license

American  

[lahy-suhns] / ˈlaɪ səns /

noun

• licenses
  plural

1. formal permission from a governmental or other constituted authority to do something, as to carry on some business or profession.

2. a certificate, tag, plate, etc., giving proof of such permission; official permit.

   a driver's license.

3. permission to do or not to do something.

4. intentional deviation from rule, convention, or fact, as for the sake of literary or artistic effect.

   poetic license.

5. exceptional freedom allowed in a special situation.

6. excessive or undue freedom or liberty.

7. licentiousness.

8. the legal right to use a patent owned by another.

---

verb (used with object)

• licenses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• licensed,
  past participle,  past
• licensing
  present participle

1. to grant authoritative permission or license to.

license British  

/ ˈlaɪsəns /

verb

1. to grant or give a licence for (something, such as the sale of alcohol)

2. to give permission to or for

---

Usage

What does license mean? License means permission to do something, especially formal permission from a government or other authority. The word often refers to the proof of that permission, such as a card or certificate. A license can be required for many different kinds of activities, especially those that may be considered dangerous if a person does not have the proper training. The most common types of licenses are driver’s licenses, professional licenses, and licenses for businesses. Those who hold such licenses are said to be licensed. License can also be used as a verb, meaning “to grant permission” or “to give a license to.” In British English, it is commonly spelled licence. Example: I have permission to operate here, and if you doubt it you can even see my license.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• licenser
  noun
• licensor
  noun
• prelicense
  noun
• de-license
  verb (used with object)
• relicense
  verb (used with object)
• licensable
  adjective
• licenseless
  adjective
• nonlicensable
  adjective
• nonlicensed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• licenses
  plural

Participles

• licensing
  present
• licensed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• license
  simple
• licenses
  simple
• have licensed
  perfect
• has licensed
  perfect
• am licensing
  progressive
• are licensing
  progressive
• is licensing
  progressive
• have been licensing
  perfect progressive
• has been licensing
  perfect progressive

Past

• licensed
  simple
• had licensed
  perfect
• was licensing
  progressive
• were licensing
  progressive
• had been licensing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will license
  simple
• will have licensed
  perfect
• will be licensing
  progressive
• will have been licensing
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of license

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English licence, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin licentia “authorization,” Latin: “freedom,” equivalent to licent- (stem of licēns, present participle of licēre “to be allowed”) + -ia noun suffix; see -ia, -ence

---

Explanation

What does 007's license to kill have to do with that driver's license you can't wait to acquire? Both are forms of permissions conferred officially. If you’re in England, the noun ends in “c,” as in driver’s licence. When you have a license, you have official permission to do something, like drive a car. Bars need a liquor license to serve alcohol. Doctors need a medical license to practice medicine. You can also say people have license to do something, which means they're free to do it, like if you give yourself poetic license to misspell your own name. In Britain, license is only a verb, meaning "allow," and the noun form is spelled with two cs: licence.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

license licenses licensed licensing

"I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials," she told Newsweek, without clarifying whether she held a US law license.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Character.ai said before the bankruptcy filing it struck an agreement with Disney in which the entertainment company agreed to pay $20 million to license certain intellectual property from the AI startup.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Did the department of motor vehicles take her license?

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

The investigators notified the Mexican army, providing the license plate number.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Steve handed Liddy a Kansas driver’s license in the name of George F. Leonard.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Verizon and AT&T may also be interested in some of those licenses, which altogether are valued at $11.3 billion, according to Petti.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Residency can affect taxes, voting, driver’s licenses, insurance and other matters, and the rules in every state are different.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is bidding for licenses and could take on giants such as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile US.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Norway's Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on licenses for projects in the North Sea.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

This had caused trouble for dozens of places: some had been put off limits by the military; some had lost their state or city licenses.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

California has hundreds of licensed home lenders, which include large national banks such as Chase, online lenders including Rocket Mortgage, and regional and community banks, as well as credit unions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Disclosures: S.C. holds patents or pending patents on PD-L2 at Mayo Clinic and Spanish National Cancer Research Center, some of which have been licensed to Rejuveron Senescence Therapeutics.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

“Repair is not this fully cathartic moment,” says Rachel Haack, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Reno, Nev., who works with families dealing with estrangement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

The number of pedicabs authorized in New York is capped at 840 but, according to figures shared at a council hearing, around 1,500 are currently operating -- only 330 of which are licensed.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

This type of search will be performed by a licensed medical staff.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

Bit by bit, Disney is continuing to shape itself into something more like its former nemesis, Netflix, including by diving more into the vertical-video and A.I. future while licensing visual podcasts as TV shows.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

City of Doncaster Council, which is responsible for licensing the park, is carrying out a health and safety investigation and said it would share the outcome with the coroner, the inquest was told.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

The registration, which started Friday, applies to transfers of technology ownership, overseas licensing as well as moving ownership to a foreign entity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Outside the United States, access to the drug will be handled through a licensing agreement between Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Recordati, a major pharmaceutical company headquartered in Italy.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

Employers in a growing number of professions are barred by state licensing agencies from hiring people with a wide range of criminal convictions, even convictions unrelated to the job or license sought.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• authorization
• certificate
• charter
• consent
• exemption
• grant
• immunity
• permit
• privilege
• right
• ticket
• warrant

---