licensee

American

[lahy-suhn-see] / ˌlaɪ sənˈsi /

Or licencee

noun

a person, company, etc., to whom a license is granted or issued.

licensee British

/ ˌlaɪsənˈsiː /

noun

a person who holds a licence, esp one to sell alcoholic drink

"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

Etymology

Origin of licensee

First recorded in 1865–70; license + -ee

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.

The regulation specifies that “if any licensee shall permit any . . . candidate for any public office to use a broadcasting station,” the station owner “shall afford equal opportunities to all other such candidates.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

“The five-pound, 12-inch-by-18-inch binder given every new licensee establishes accepted poses for each character and painstakingly details their personalities,” Lazzareschi wrote in a 1987 Times story.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

Netflix said that Mattel and Hasbro have each been named a global co-master toy licensee for its global hit film “KPop Demon Hunters.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025

Never before has the commission been confronted with so much evidence attached to a petition that clearly shows that an FCC broadcast licensee undermined that trust.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2025

Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you."

From Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Williams, Sam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023