(deputies)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is the second most important person in an organization such as a business or government department. Someone’s ~ often acts on their behalf when they are not there.
...Jack Lang, France’s minister for culture, and his ~, Catherine Tasca.
N-COUNT: oft N n
2.
In some parliaments or law-making bodies, the elected members are called deputies.
N-COUNT