unlicensed
Americanadjective
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having no license.
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done or undertaken without license or permission; unauthorized.
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unrestrained; unbridled.
adjective
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having no licence
an unlicensed restaurant
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without permission; unauthorized
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unrestrained or lawless
Etymology
Origin of unlicensed
First recorded in 1600–10; un- 1 + license ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )
Explanation
When something is unlicensed, it has no license, i.e., no official government approval. If a restaurant doesn't have a liquor license but serves wine anyway, it's an unlicensed sale of that beverage. You will hear the word unlicensed most often involving illegally-possessed firearms. Murders are often committed with unlicensed guns, meaning that the killer purchased the gun without a license, most likely from a shady dealer.
Vocabulary lists containing unlicensed
100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 4
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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.
The NPP politician was found guilty of "assigning mineral rights without approval" and "facilitating an unlicensed mining operation" through his company, Akonta Mining.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Han Lin, a cross-border finance specialist at The Asia Group consultancy, said Beijing's move was driven by "concerns over capital outflows, regulatory sovereignty, and unlicensed offshore securities activity".
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Greece’s regulator didn’t approve Binance’s application before a July 1 deadline that requires unlicensed crypto firms to wind down their local businesses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
City officials said they were less interested in actually collecting the taxes from unlicensed businesses, which would be difficult, and more in using it as a tool to go after them in court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
They broadcast from so-called wildcat stations, which were secret and unlicensed and kept odd hours.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
