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.
Revised wording no longer explicitly invokes Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows the Security Council to authorize armed force to restore peace.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Scientists at the agency are hesitant to authorize the products due to potential risks to children and new users, the report said.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
The U.A.E. is lobbying for a United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorize such action, the officials said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
State Department authorize nonemergency U.S. government personnel and their family members to leave Israel “due to safety risks,” which weren’t specified.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026
He had become our family, but the man wanted a real family member who could authorize his burial.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
