authorize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to give authority or official power to; empower.
to authorize an employee to sign purchase orders.
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to give authority for; formally sanction (an act or proceeding).
Congress authorized the new tax on tobacco.
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to establish by authority or usage.
an arrangement long authorized by etiquette books.
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to afford a ground for; warrant; justify.
verb
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to confer authority upon (someone to do something); empower
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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.
When users set up an OpenClaw agent on their computer, they can authorize it to join Moltbook, allowing it to communicate with other bots.
From BBC
Another union — Local 99 of Service Employees International Union — that represents educators in Southern California is also scheduled to vote on whether to authorize a strike starting on Monday.
From Los Angeles Times
Members of United Teachers Los Angeles have voted overwhelmingly to authorize their leadership to call a strike, ratcheting up pressure as negotiations stall and L.A.
From Los Angeles Times
According to the union’s social media post, 82% of its members voted to authorize a strike.
From Los Angeles Times
Torres stressed that his team acted cautiously in the decision to authorize the school for occupancy, and that promising preliminary testing helped school administrators plan ahead.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
