license

[ lahy-suh ns ]

/ ˈlaɪ səns /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR license ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

a certificate, tag, plate, etc., giving proof of such permission; official permit: a driver's license.

permission to do or not to do something.

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

exceptional freedom allowed in a special situation.

excessive or undue freedom or liberty.

licentiousness.

the legal right to use a patent owned by another.

verb (used with object), li·censed, li·cens·ing.

to grant authoritative permission or license to.

Nearby words

libya, libyan, libyan desert, lice, licence, license, license plate, licensed, licensed aircraft engineer, licensed practical nurse, licensed vocational nurse

Origin of license

1325–75; Middle English licence < Middle French < Medieval Latin licentia authorization, Latin: freedom, equivalent to licent- (stem of licēns, present participle of licēre to be allowed) + -ia -ia; see -ence

Related forms

li·cens·a·ble, adjectiveli·cense·less, adjectiveli·cens·er; especially Law, li·cen·sor, nounde-li·cense, verb (used with object), de-li·censed, de-li·cens·ing.

non·li·cens·a·ble, adjectivenon·li·censed, adjectivepre·li·cense, noun, verb (used with object), pre·li·censed, pre·li·cens·ing.re·li·cense, verb (used with object), re·li·censed, re·li·cens·ing.

Can be confused

certificate degree diploma license

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for licensed

Spanning more than 150 years, the exhibit exhaustively distinguishes designer pieces from licensed copies, adaptations, and fakes.
The Big Business of Fashion Counterfeits|Lizzie Crocker|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However, the act that gives blanket immunity seems only to apply to licensed dealers.
Victim’s Parents Sue Merchants of the Aurora Massacre|Cliff Schecter|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the late 1990s a vaccine called RotaShield was licensed in the United States.
The $1 Billion Reason to Vaccinate|Russell Saunders|June 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As with all self-experiments, readers will need to judge what works best for themselves—and with a licensed physician.
How to Use Your Lunch Hour for Better Productivity, Without Ever Taking a Bite|Gregory Ferenstein|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It would have had to have proper accounting and people with financials skills to get licensed.
Inside Japan’s Bitcoin Heist|Jake Adelstein|February 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Orange loyalty was then licensed and let loose upon the defenceless Roman Catholic population in Ulster.
The Land-War In Ireland (1870)|James Godkin
There is a licensed hotel, good stores and various tradesmen, likewise dray roads from Maneroo and Port Philip.
The Book of the Bush|George Dunderdale
Had not people who kept a lunatic to be licensed or something?
Beaumaroy Home from the Wars|Anthony Hope
He was a licensed insulter of his friends, and now stood before the picture in a belligerent attitude.
The Invader|Margaret L. Woods
He was then licensed by the Presbytery, and has been preaching the gospel ever since that time.
The Choctaw Freedmen|Robert Elliott Flickinger

British Dictionary definitions for licensed

license

/ (ˈlaɪsəns) /

verb (tr)

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

to give permission to or for

Derived Forms

licensable, adjectivelicenser or licensor, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

license

noun

verb (used with object), li·censed, li·cens·ing.

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of license

Related forms

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for licensed

British Dictionary definitions for licensed

license

verb (tr)

Derived Forms