authorize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to give authority or official power to; empower.
to authorize an employee to sign purchase orders.
-
to give authority for; formally sanction (an act or proceeding).
Congress authorized the new tax on tobacco.
-
to establish by authority or usage.
an arrangement long authorized by etiquette books.
-
to afford a ground for; warrant; justify.
verb
-
to confer authority upon (someone to do something); empower
-
to permit (someone to do or be something) with official sanction
a dealer authorized by a manufacturer to retail his products
Other Word Forms
- authorizable adjective
- authorization noun
- authorizer noun
- deauthorize verb (used with object)
- misauthorize verb (used with object)
- preauthorize verb (used with object)
- reauthorize verb (used with object)
- self-authorizing adjective
Etymology
Origin of authorize
1350–1400; earlier auctorize < Medieval Latin auctōrizāre; replacing Middle English autorisen < Middle French autoriser < Medieval Latin See author, -ize
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.
The U.A.E. is lobbying for a United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorize such action, the officials said.
By authorizing the content and direction of the documentary, Jackson takes care to preserve and even somewhat redeem Joseph’s legacy, one that other documentaries, specials and fictionalized versions of Michael’s life have characterized as abusive.
From Salon
Parker Kingfisher and I were on the same side of the debate that a tribe had the right to authorize the use of their name, like with copyright protections.
From Literature
By 1534, Henry’s bishops were urging the king to authorize a new English translation of the Scriptures to help unify his realm.
The US Treasury Department separately issued a license Wednesday to authorize certain transactions between established US entities and Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA.
From Barron's
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.
