permission
Americannoun
-
permissions
plural
-
authorization granted to do something; formal consent.
to ask permission to leave the room.
-
the act of permitting.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of permission
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin permissiōn-, stem of permissiō “a yielding, giving leave,” from permiss(us) “given leave” (past participle of permittere “to let go through, give leave”; see permit 1) + -iō -ion
Explanation
If you give someone approval to do something, you are giving them permission. Think of the permission slip your parents sign to let you go on a field trip––they are approving your going on the trip. Permission has the same Latin root word as permit. They both come from permittere, which means to allow to go or pass through. Permission can be given in writing, it can be given orally, or it can be assumed or unspoken––by passing the box of cookies around the room you're giving everyone tacit permission to help themselves.
Vocabulary lists containing permission
Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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"The War of the Wall" by Toni Cade Bambara
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The Titan's Curse
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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.
See Examples For:
"I don't post anything without permission and there are loads of clean-ups where I wouldn't even ask."
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
“I don’t know if it’s healthy for me to be out on a run looking at my watch to give my agent permission to do something,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
The summary also noted the court had set a timetable for the claimants to request permission to appeal the July 7 decision, which must be filed by October 2.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Reprinted with permission of Little, Brown and Company, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
He was given permission to take her into the shed.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
They also priced out those potential updates and secured the necessary planning permissions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
“All required licenses, waivers and permissions needed for the relevant financial transactions will be granted by the United States of America,” the memorandum reads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Leek said that in his view, it is necessary to restrict AI agent permissions and authorization at the technology execution layer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
They become permissions granted or withheld based on the whim of those who interpret and adjudicate our laws.
From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2026
We had seen him just this morning in Santiago when we picked up our permissions.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
