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 Titan's Curse
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"The War of the Wall" by Toni Cade Bambara
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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:
The CFAA, for instance, has a provision for “reckless damage”—but it still requires a human to have intentionally accessed a computer without permission in the first place.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026
“In case after case,” Mr. Levinson writes, “UPS would win permission to do things that other trucking companies could not.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Investigators said at the time that more than 25 songs had been played or distributed online without permission from Eminem or the group that owns his music, Capitol Labels Group.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
They eventually received permission to carry out their experiment on-site at Anthropic’s offices using an internal, unreleased Claude Science research model.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
The way you can’t leave the property without permission.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Though the hotel’s owners eventually got the city permissions they needed, Attias said, a partnership with other hoteliers dissolved and the Clark went to the back burner again, as did the Embassy Auditorium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
These special permissions gave California the authority to regulate CO2 emissions and pollutants from cargo ships, oil tankers, fishing vessels, lawn mowers, chain saws, and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
It provides a point of contact for production companies looking for perfect filming locations - guiding them in the right direction and assisting them with permissions.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
They also priced out those potential updates and secured the necessary planning permissions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
And he was known to be fastidious about not granting permissions until he could be confident his shows would be produced to a certain standard.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
