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.
In San Diego, the teachers’ union voted before winter break to authorize a one-day unfair labor practice strike on Feb. 26 if the San Diego Unified School District does not improve special education staffing.
From Los Angeles Times
Maybe they’ve already alerted the police or the road department or whomever would need to authorize a crew to get us out of here.
From Literature
“As patients gain access to physician-level insight through their smartphones,” he asks, should traditional credentials “still determine who can order tests and authorize treatments”?
When users set up an OpenClaw agent on their computer, they can authorize it to join Moltbook, allowing it to communicate with other bots.
From BBC
Another union — Local 99 of Service Employees International Union — that represents educators in Southern California is also scheduled to vote on whether to authorize a strike starting on Monday.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
