authorize
Americanverb (used with object)
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authorizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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authorized,
past participle, past
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authorizing
present participle
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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:
“I did not ask or authorize my mother to give such consent on my behalf, and I do not recall signing or being asked to sign any document giving that consent.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
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
JPMorgan said it would authorize a new $50 billion buyback program.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 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
Many of the states that do authorize some monetary aid severely limit the amount of compensation.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
By contrast, the Constitution explicitly authorizes Congress to establish federal agencies and define the scope of their mandate.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
The measure also authorizes security forces to clear roadblocks that had caused severe food, medical and fuel shortages in several cities.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 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
The new legislation will prevent school districts from sharing teachers’ personal information unless the teacher authorizes the disclosure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
It also says the Bishop of Jerusalem of the Arab Episcopal Church authorizes it.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
District Court Judge Katherine Menendez dismissed the case, ultimately finding that Congress never authorized the attorney general to access voting records and documents that state officials create themselves.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
“It’s very hard. He’s authorized to work in the United States,” Juan Pirela said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Harvey said it accesses closed models through APIs provided by model providers and authorized cloud providers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The environmental initiative was shelved in 2013 by president Rafael Correa, who authorized crude extraction in the Yasuni National Park after acknowledging the plan's economic failure.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
During the 1740s the British War Office and Parliament commissioned two companies of colonial rangers and authorized more than a hundred men to serve in the Highland Rangers in Georgia.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The mosquito abatement district model has its roots in the early 20th century, and Utah was the third state to pass legislation authorizing the agencies.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
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
She begins to type rapidly on her keyboard, authorizing her decision.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
