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
Derived Forms
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authorizationnoun
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authorizernoun
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deauthorizeverb (used with object)
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misauthorizeverb (used with object)
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preauthorizeverb (used with object)
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reauthorizeverb (used with object)
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authorizableadjective
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self-authorizingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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authorizesimple
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authorizessimple
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have authorizedperfect
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has authorizedperfect
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am authorizingprogressive
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are authorizingprogressive
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is authorizingprogressive
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have been authorizingperfect progressive
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has been authorizingperfect progressive
Past
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authorizedsimple
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had authorizedperfect
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was authorizingprogressive
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were authorizingprogressive
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had been authorizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of authorize
1350–1400; earlier auctorize < Medieval Latin auctōrizāre; replacing Middle English autorisen < Middle French autoriser < Medieval Latin See author, -ize
Explanation
To authorize is to give official approval or clearance for something. Authorizing can also delegate power to someone. Authorities are people with power, and to authorize is to use or grant some of that power to another. A visa authorizes you to visit a specific country. A search warrant authorizes the police to search a house. A doctor's note authorizes someone to miss work or school. Also, authorizing can be a form of delegating powers or responsibilities. The president of a company could authorize a worker to make a particular decision. Authorizing officially allows something to happen.
Vocabulary lists containing authorize
Quartering Act (1765)
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 1–January 7, 2022
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Maryland Toleration Act (1649)
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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 GAO recommended that Congress temporarily limit nonemergency sales from the reserve and authorize a funding mechanism to help the Energy Department cover ongoing or periodic costs for maintaining the SPR.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
He explained that when the federal government gives states money for prisons, education, healthcare and other matters, it can require them to follow the law but it does not authorize private lawsuits against their employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
But that is not, in fact, how Harlan meant it: In context, his broader argument was that permitting Jim Crow segregation would authorize a racial “caste” forbidden by the 14th Amendment.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026
Local 11’s SoFi Stadium workers overwhelmingly voted late last week to authorize a strike, which means a work stoppage could have started anytime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
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 "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Environmentalists legally challenged the new regulation, which authorizes provincial governments to redefine protected areas as a way to expand mining activity.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
They invoked a provision of the Clean Water Act that authorizes states to require additional permits on a case-by-case basis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Whether Ternus authorizes a big transaction or sticks with the program will tell investors whether the Nadella way or the Gelsinger way is the model.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026
It turns out that Maine already has a law on the books that authorizes damages against federal officials who deprive people of their constitutional rights.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026
It also says the Bishop of Jerusalem of the Arab Episcopal Church authorizes it.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
When the British government authorized 38 new criminal charges against the Tates and submitted an updated extradition request to the Justice Department, the White House’s calculation was simple.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Both asked to remain unnamed because they were not authorized to publicly discuss LAHSA’s presentation, which focused on the results of this year’s annual point-in-time count conducted in January.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
“It is sort of a black box in terms of why something is authorized and why something isn’t,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
If he dies while living alone, access to his residence may initially be limited until the appropriate person is authorized to secure the property.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
“You’re asking me for information that I’m not authorized to provide.”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
He added that the statute authorizing the president to remove a Federal Reserve Board member for cause didn’t require a notice or a hearing.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
He added that the department’s position is the state’s Administrative Procedure Act does not contemplate the commissioner or department staff authorizing intervention requests in the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Before authorizing the transfer, though, Large told Waldorf she had to say specific words.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Some clients are authorizing him to promise salaries that match or exceed the workers’ Silicon Valley pay—a windfall given China’s lower cost of living.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
"Let's start with you authorizing my satellite time."
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
