visa
Americannoun
-
visas
plural
verb (used with object)
-
to give a visa to; approve a visa for.
-
to put a visa on (a passport).
noun
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an endorsement in a passport or similar document, signifying that the document is in order and permitting its bearer to travel into or through the country of the government issuing it
-
any sign or signature of approval
verb
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to enter a visa into (a passport)
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to endorse or ratify
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of visa
1830–40; < French, short for Latin carta vīsa “the document (has been) seen”; vīsa, feminine past participle of vidēre “to see, look at”
Explanation
A visa is a permit to enter a specific country. Without a visa, you might not be able to travel where you want. While you may know Visa as the name of a credit card company, a visa is a little different: it's an official authorization to enter a country. This is different from a passport, which is a type of identification geared toward international travel. A visa is a more specific form of authorization, allowing you to travel to a certain country. A visa may only last for a certain amount of time, and different countries have different standards for granting a visa.
Vocabulary lists containing visa
"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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Greetings, World Traveler! — List 3
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Viewing Current Refugee Crisis Through an Anne Frank Lens
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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:
While excoriating the loss of his visa, López Beltrán also painted a dystopian picture of present-day life north of the border.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. has a policy of not commenting on specific cases, but added that “every visa decision is a national security decision.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
After this temporary terrestrial’s Earthly visa expired in 2025, his identity was revealed to be Bill Atkinson, an early designer at Apple.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Ndukwe must accumulate 15 points across a number of categories while out on loan to qualify automatically for a visa.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
But with my father dead, what were the chances that they would give his family a visa?
From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi
The government has proposed fees for obtaining H-1B work visas and fees for international students looking to work in the U.S. after graduation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
While no agency tracks these cases nationwide, three firms that help secure these kinds of residences said interest in so-called golden visas has skyrocketed in the past five years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Despite European countries regularly denouncing the restrictions Afghanistan puts on women, Sweden, Denmark and Germany have also refused them visas.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
A seamless grid of autobahns and high speed rail linking a transnational union no longer scarred by checkpoints and exit visas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
We’d spent six months in Peshawar waiting for the INS to issue our visas.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Last week, for the first time since the War, Dutch frontier guards allowed Germans to enter the Netherlands without having their passports visaed.
From Time Magazine Archive
His cautious employers had merely supplied him expense money and instructions to have his passport visaed for England, France and Germany.
From Time Magazine Archive
It would have taken him two weeks, every time, to get his passport visaed.
From Time Magazine Archive
Hereafter peasants who may wish to move in from the country to Rovigno must apply for a permit 15 days in advance and have it visaed by the Chief of Police.
From Time Magazine Archive
We have been traveling on horseback, since," Ralph said; "and have had no occasion to have it visaed, as it has always passed us without trouble.
From The Young Franc Tireurs And Their Adventures in the Franco-Prussian War by F. T. Young
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.
