Representative I came across in bed, retired (7)
I believe the answer is:
totemic
'representative' is the definition.
(totemic can mean symbolic)
'i came across in bed retired' is the wordplay.
'came across' becomes 'met' ('meet' can be a synonym of 'come across').
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'bed' becomes 'cot' (cot is a kind of bed).
'retired' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'i'+'met'='imet'
'imet' put into 'cot' is 'cimetot'.
'cimetot' in reverse letter order is 'TOTEMIC'.
(Other definitions for totemic that I've seen before include "Having emblematic and spiritual significance" , "Emblematic, symbolic" , "(Of an object) having spiritual significance" , "Like something significant" , "Having significance as an emblem" .)