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.
Last month, the government declared a national “security emergency,” authorizing the police and army to recruit and train additional personnel.
When a tiny nonprofit jumps from a few million dollars to nearly $200 million in reimbursements, a treasurer can demand audits and data checks before authorizing another dime.
The measure authorizes roughly $8 billion more than the administration requested, a signal of congressional assertiveness on defense priorities.
From Barron's
Federal judges in New York and Florida have already started authorizing the unsealing of grand jury transcripts and exhibits under the new statute, including in Maxwell’s 2021 case.
From Salon
But the notion that I would plow ahead with authorizing driverless cars without the agency’s analysis and recommendations is absurd.
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.
