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.
“IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” the ruling reads.
From Salon
Both conservative and liberal justices have questioned whether that act, which does not mention tariffs or taxes, authorizes across-the-board import duties.
From MarketWatch
Teachers in Los Angeles, the country’s second-largest school district, have already voted to authorize a strike, empowering union leaders to call for a walkout later if a deal isn’t reached.
Even if that were true, the statutes regulating the SEC don’t authorize the agency to force a vote on any matter.
Treasury Department on Feb. 10 issued new and amended general licenses that are expected to help make energy exploration and production in Venezuela a bit easier, including “authorizing certain activities involving Venezuela-origin oil.”
From MarketWatch
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.
