visa
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to give a visa to; approve a visa for.
-
to put a visa on (a passport).
noun
-
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
-
to enter a visa into (a passport)
-
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:
According to ICE, Adongo, 37, overstayed his visa after his brief NFL career ended in 2015 and he remained in Indiana.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
It added that he had obtained a visa to enter the US and that he intends to perform in Miami later in the day.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
The visa category allows foreign students to live in the U.S. and study full-time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The policy, which comes into effect in September, "combats rampant visa abuse, and strengthens national security through regular vetting", the Department of Homeland Security said.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
The man stamped a visa and handed it to him.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
More than 230,000 Hong Kongers have been granted BNO visas and nearly 170,000 have already relocated to the UK, according to the UK government.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
That had all kinds of ramifications, starting with the State Department’s refusal to grant visas to more than a dozen members of Iran’s official delegation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
For roughly the last five decades, student visas were valid for the years that an educational program lasted, plus optional practical training.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Some were not necessarily controversial: requests to share data on known criminals, encourage people not to overstay their visas, work with the US to receive their own nationals slated for deportation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
In the back of their minds, I know they hoped the unrest in Iran would settle down, and we might be able to return to the country before our US visitor's visas expired.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Theirs was not an official military mission such as the Dutch or Swiss had accredited to the Control Council, but simply a purchasing mission with passports visaed by the Soviet occupation authorities.
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
The chamber needed two more copies of the original bill, which also had to be registered at the registration office and visaed by the price control office.
From Time Magazine Archive
It would have taken him two weeks, every time, to get his passport visaed.
From Time Magazine Archive
No sooner said than done; there was one of the Messagérie steamers up for Malta next day; got my passport visaed, secured berth, all right.
From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 6, June, 1862 Devoted To Literature and National Policy by Various
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.
