warrant

[wawr-uh nt, wor-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR warrant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

authorization, sanction, or justification.

something that serves to give reliable or formal assurance of something; guarantee, pledge, or security.

something considered as having the force of a guarantee or as being positive assurance of a thing: The cavalry and artillery were considered sure warrants of success.

a writing or document certifying or authorizing something, as a receipt, license, or commission.

Law. an instrument, issued by a magistrate, authorizing an officer to make an arrest, seize property, make a search, or carry a judgment into execution.

the certificate of authority or appointment issued to an officer of the armed forces below the rank of a commissioned officer.

a warehouse receipt.

a written authorization for the payment or receipt of money: a treasury warrant.

verb (used with object)

to give authority to; authorize.

to give reason or sanction for; account for: The circumstances warrant such measures.

to give one's word for; vouch for (often used with a clause to emphasize something asserted): I'll warrant he did!

to give a formal assurance, or a guarantee or promise, to or for; guarantee: to warrant someone honorable treatment; to warrant payment; to warrant safe delivery.

to guarantee the quantity, quality, and other representations of (an article, product, etc.), as to a purchaser.

to guarantee or secure title to (the purchaser of goods); assure indemnification against loss to.

Law. to guarantee title of an estate or other granted property (to a grantee).

Origin of warrant

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English warant < Anglo-French; Old French guarant < Germanic; compare Middle Low German warend, -ent warranty, noun use of present participle of waren to warrant; (v.) Middle English < Anglo-French warantir; Old French g(u)arantir, derivative of guarant; see guaranty

Related formswar·rant·less, adjectivenon·war·rant·ed, adjectivepre·war·rant, noun, verb (used with object)qua·si-war·rant·ed, adjectivere·war·rant, verb (used with object)self-war·rant·ing, adjectiveun·war·rant·ed, adjectiveun·war·rant·ed·ly, adverbwell-war·rant·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for warrant

sanction, license, certificate, permission, summons, subpoena, passport, permit, ticket, pledge, credential, accreditation, uphold, affirm, require, necessitate, stipulate, explain, ensure, undertake

Examples from the Web for warrant

Contemporary Examples of warrant

Antoine himself had recently been arrested on a six-year-old warrant for a dime bag of weed.
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown
Batya Ungar-Sargon
January 1, 2015
The risks are too high to warrant supporting public marriage proposals.
Public Marriage Proposals Must Die
Tauriq Moosa
December 28, 2014
Not enough black films are being made to warrant a piece of the pie.
Ava DuVernay on ‘Selma,’ the Racist Sony Emails, and Making Golden Globes History
Marlow Stern
December 15, 2014
Olga was on guard as always, and categorically refused to open the door unless the police produced a warrant.
How Havel Inspired the Velvet Revolution
Michael Zantovsky
December 6, 2014
There are indeed cases of serious harassment that warrant both public scrutiny and close attention from law enforcement.
A Female Writer’s New Milestone: Her First Death Threat
Annie Gaus
December 1, 2014

Historical Examples of warrant

"If your cask is leer, I warrant your purse is full, gaffer," shouted Hordle John.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
"If you will warrant the beer, I will warrant the throat," said John composedly.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
I'll warrant you have lost a dozen between Mallory's and here.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
Again Kitty nodded, after looking up at him in alarm when he spoke of the warrant.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
But I'll warrant you there's a kitchen garden in the rear of the palace.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne

British Dictionary definitions for warrant

warrant

noun

anything that gives authority for an action or decision; authorization; sanction

a document that certifies or guarantees, such as a receipt for goods stored in a warehouse, a licence, or a commission

law an authorization issued by a magistrate or other official allowing a constable or other officer to search or seize property, arrest a person, or perform some other specified act

(in certain armed services) the official authority for the appointment of warrant officers

a security that functions as a stock option by giving the owner the right to buy ordinary shares in a company at a specified date, often at a specified price

verb (tr)

to guarantee the quality, condition, etc, of (something)

to give authority or power to

to attest to or assure the character, worthiness, etc, of

to guarantee (a purchaser of merchandise) against loss of, damage to, or misrepresentation concerning the merchandise

law to guarantee (the title to an estate or other property)

to declare boldly and confidently

Derived Formswarrantable, adjectivewarrantability, nounwarrantably, adverbwarranter, nounwarrantless, adjective

Word Origin for warrant

C13: from Anglo-French warrant, variant of Old French guarant, from guarantir to guarantee, of Germanic origin; compare guaranty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for warrant

early 13c., "protector, defender," from Old North French warant (Old French garant), from Frankish *warand (cf. Old High German weren "to authorize, warrant," German gewähren "to grant"), from Proto-Germanic *war- "to warn, guard, protect," perhaps from PIE root *wer- "to cover" (cf. Latin vereri "to observe with awe, revere, respect, fear;" Greek ouros "watchman," horan "to see;" Hittite werite- "to see;" see weir).

Sense evolved via notion of "permission from a superior which protects one from blame or responsibility" (c.1300) to "document conveying authority" (1510s). A warrant officer in the military is one who holds office by warrant, rather than by commission.

late 13c., "to keep safe from danger," from Old North French warantir (Old French garantir), from warant (see warrant (n.)).

Meaning "to guarantee to be of quality" is attested from late 14c.; sense of "to guarantee as true" is recorded from c.1300. Related: Warranted; warranting.

Idioms and Phrases with warrant

warrant

see sign one's own death warrant.