say-so
Americannoun
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one's personal statement or assertion.
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final authority; directing influence.
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an authoritative statement.
noun
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an arbitrary assertion
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an authoritative decision
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the authority to make a final decision
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of say-so
First recorded in 1630–40; originally, one's mere word on a matter, as opposed to proof
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.
Two years later, Mr. Novick lost his new job as a U.S. marshal after being put on a blacklist on the say-so of federal prosecutors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
As a result, neither DOJ’s statement, nor the still-unavailable OLC opinion, nor the say-so of the president, the attorney general, or the secretary of defense is the last word.
From Slate • Nov. 24, 2025
She confirmed in dramatic terms that Cohen and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s then-chief financial officer, would not have cooked up the scheme to pay off the adult-film actor Stormy Daniels without Trump’s say-so.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2024
But in a 52-page decision, Liman said the plaintiffs did not prove they had sincere religious objections to being vaccinated, and instead offered only their "say-so" on the issue.
From Reuters • Sep. 25, 2023
“Couple of days later, once he’d got the say-so from You-Know-Who, I imagine, he sent it down to London to be kept in Gringotts instead.”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
