permit

[verb per-mit; noun pur-mit, per-mit]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR permit ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), per·mit·ted, per·mit·ting.

to allow to do something: Permit me to explain.

to allow to be done or occur: The law does not permit the sale of such drugs.

to tolerate; agree to: a law permitting Roman Catholicism in England.

to afford opportunity for, or admit of: vents to permit the escape of gases.

verb (used without object), per·mit·ted, per·mit·ting.

to grant permission; allow liberty to do something.

to afford opportunity or possibility: Write when time permits.

to allow or admit (usually followed by of): statements that permit of no denial.

noun

an authoritative or official certificate of permission; license: a fishing permit.

a written order granting special permission to do something.

permission.

Nearby words

Origin of permit

1425–75; late Middle English < Latin permittere to let go through, give leave, equivalent to per- per- + mittere to let or make (someone) go. See admit, commit, etc.

SYNONYMS FOR permit

8. franchise.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR permit ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR permit

1. refuse.

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Related forms

per·mit·ted·ly, adverbper·mit·tee

[pur-mi-tee] /ˌpɜr mɪˈti/, nounper·mit·ter, nounnon·per·mit·ted, adjective

un·per·mit·ted, adjectiveun·per·mit·ting, adjective

Synonym study

1. See allow.

permit

[pur-mit]

noun

a pompano, Trachinotus falcatus, of the waters off the West Indies.

Origin of permit

1880–85, Americanism; apparently by folk etymology < Spanish palometa palometa

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

Examples from the Web for permit

“Please, please do not permit this to happen here in Florida,” wrote Cris K. Smith of East Polk County.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Before we get to all that, permit me a brief reflection on this matter of Steve Scalise.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We are developing a strategy next year that will permit them to march in the street.
Before the Bros, SantaCon Was as an Anti-Corporate Protest|David Freedlander|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or perhaps EBT programs could permit the purchase of ethical items based on a sliding price scale.
The Bioethicist Turned Butcher|Elizabeth Picciuto|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The organizers of the protest, who did not have a permit for the sit-in, refused to leave and police began to arrest them in mass.
Occupy Climate Change! Hundreds Blame Capitalism at Flood Wall Street Rally|Jacob Siegel|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An attempt to remove it, the surgeons determined, would be more hazardous to life than to permit it to remain.
The Memories of Fifty Years|William H. Sparks
If I say you must not leave here; that I will not permit my ward to work for her living?
Medoline Selwyn's Work|Mrs. J. J. Colter
A husband ought never to take his wife to the country nor permit her to go there.
The Physiology of Marriage, Complete|Honore de Balzac
The ground for refusing to permit him to continue his address was stated to be irrelevancy to the question at issue.
The Awakening|Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy
"You must permit me to wash the wound on your head first," she insisted.
Gordon Craig|Randall Parrish

British Dictionary definitions for permit

permit

verb (pəˈmɪt) -mits, -mitting or -mitted

(tr) to grant permission to do somethingyou are permitted to smoke

(tr) to consent to or tolerateshe will not permit him to come

(when intr, often foll by of; when tr, often foll by an infinitive) to allow the possibility (of)the passage permits of two interpretations; his work permits him to relax nowadays

noun (ˈpɜːmɪt)

an official certificate or document granting authorization; licence

permission, esp written permission

Derived Formspermitter, noun

Word Origin for permit

C15: from Latin permittere, from per- through + mittere to send

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

Word Origin and History for permit

permit

late 15c., from Middle French permetre and directly from Latin permittere "let pass, let go, let loose; give up, hand over; let, allow, grant, permit," from per- "through" (see per) + mittere "let go, send" (see mission). Related: Permitted; permitting.

permit

"written statement of permission or license," 1714, from permit (v.).

permit

verb (used with object), per·mit·ted, per·mit·ting.

verb (used without object), per·mit·ted, per·mit·ting.

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of permit

Synonym study

permit

noun

Origin of permit

Examples from the Web for permit

permit

verb (pəˈmɪt) -mits, -mitting or -mitted

noun (ˈpɜːmɪt)

Word Origin for permit

permit

permit