official
noun
a person appointed or elected to an office or charged with certain duties.
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official
American
[uh-fish-uhl]
/ əˈfɪʃ əl /
noun
-
officials
plural
adjective
-
of or relating to an office or position of duty, trust, or authority.
official powers.
-
authorized or issued authoritatively.
an official report.
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holding office.
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appointed or authorized to act in a designated capacity.
an official representative.
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(of an activity or event) intended for the notice of the public and performed or held on behalf of officials or of an organization; formal.
the official opening of a store.
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Pharmacology. noting drugs or drug preparations that are recognized by and that conform to the standards of the United States Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary.
official
1
British
/ əˈfɪʃəl /
adjective
-
of or relating to an office, its administration, or its duration
-
sanctioned by, recognized by, or derived from authority
an official statement
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appointed by authority, esp for some special duty
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having a formal ceremonial character
an official dinner
noun
Official
2
British
/ əˈfɪʃəl /
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
subofficialnoun
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nonofficialadjective
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preofficialadjective
-
pseudoofficialadjective
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quasi-officialadjective
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underofficialadjective
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unofficialadjective
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nonofficiallyadverb
-
officiallyadverb
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preofficiallyadverb
-
pseudoofficiallyadverb
-
quasi-officiallyadverb
-
subofficiallyadverb
-
unofficiallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of official
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Late Latin officiālis “of duty,” equivalent to Latin offici(um) “service, duty” + -ālis adjective suffix; see origin at office, -al 1
Explanation
Official is the real deal. If you want the latest news from Graceland, check the official Elvis Presley website. But you’ll have to look elsewhere to find the unofficial, unapproved, and highly unlikely scoop on Elvis sightings. If something is official, it's authorized and approved by somebody. If Gatorade is the official drink of the Olympics, somebody with authority has signed some papers and a deal has been made. When you're playing soccer or other sports, the official is the person who makes the calls; he referees (or officiates) the game.
Vocabulary lists containing official
Frindle
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Workshop 3, Part 1
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Early Civilizations of China, Lessons 4–6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The steady drumbeat is itself a pressure tactic, a State Department official said, intended to create the impression that further U.S. action could be imminent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
To get a state pension, you will need to prove your identity using official photo ID.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
A military official said the Defense Department had nothing to add beyond Trump’s post.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
The Times: Who is the best elected official in the history of L.A.?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
“Through that street to the Senate. I’ll be off before I’m seen by any of those official bill-waving types,” said Nighthand.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Official figures published on Friday ahead of the BOJ announcement showed that inflation eased slightly last month.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Official statements and news stories used it to mean anyone here without documentation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Official Russian government statistics show the price of gas is up 19% this year and recently resumed climbing after a dip in August.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
Official data show 38,000 hectares have burnt in West Kalimantan.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Mrs. Rhydd's signed the Official Secrets Act but she looks quite normal.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
The Portuguese also questioned the appointment of the match officials, saying he wanted to believe the decisions were mistakes rather than deliberate.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Danish and Greenlandic officials suggest it will build on an existing 1951 treaty, amended in 2004, that already gives the U.S. the right to deploy troops and build bases on the Arctic island.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Mediating disputes among the executive branch’s advisers and officials before they reach the president is also an important part of the job.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
On the Avio earnings call, Ranzo said that customers rebuffed by SpaceX used the recent International Space Summit in Paris to lobby European officials to encourage them to buy locally.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026
In June McNamara asked his assistant, John McNaughton, to start collecting classified documents for future use by government officials and scholars.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
