warrant
Americannoun
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authorization, sanction, or justification.
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something that serves to give reliable or formal assurance of something; guarantee, pledge, or security.
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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.
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a writing or document certifying or authorizing something, as a receipt, license, or commission.
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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.
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the certificate of authority or appointment issued to an officer of the armed forces below the rank of a commissioned officer.
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a warehouse receipt.
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a written authorization for the payment or receipt of money.
a treasury warrant.
verb (used with object)
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to give authority to; authorize.
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to give reason or sanction for; account for.
The circumstances warrant such measures.
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to give one's word for; vouch for (often used with a clause to emphasize something asserted).
I'll warrant he did!
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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.
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to guarantee the quantity, quality, and other representations of (an article, product, etc.), as to a purchaser.
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to guarantee or secure title to (the purchaser of goods); assure indemnification against loss to.
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Law. to guarantee title of an estate or other granted property (to a grantee).
noun
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anything that gives authority for an action or decision; authorization; sanction
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a document that certifies or guarantees, such as a receipt for goods stored in a warehouse, a licence, or a commission
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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
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(in certain armed services) the official authority for the appointment of warrant officers
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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
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to guarantee the quality, condition, etc, of (something)
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to give authority or power to
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to attest to or assure the character, worthiness, etc, of
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to guarantee (a purchaser of merchandise) against loss of, damage to, or misrepresentation concerning the merchandise
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law to guarantee (the title to an estate or other property)
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to declare boldly and confidently
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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prewarrantnoun
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warrantabilitynoun
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warranternoun
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rewarrantverb (used with object)
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self-warrantingadjective
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warrantableadjective
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warrantlessadjective
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warrantablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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warrantsimple
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warrantssimple
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have warrantedperfect
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has warrantedperfect
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am warrantingprogressive
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are warrantingprogressive
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is warrantingprogressive
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have been warrantingperfect progressive
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has been warrantingperfect progressive
Past
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warrantedsimple
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had warrantedperfect
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was warrantingprogressive
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were warrantingprogressive
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had been warrantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of warrant
First recorded in 1175–1225; (noun) Middle English warant, from Anglo-French; Old French guarant, from Germanic; compare Middle Low German warend, warent “warranty,” noun use of present participle of waren “to warrant”; (verb) Middle English, from Anglo-French warantir; Old French g(u)arantir, derivative of guarant; see guaranty
Explanation
If you watch cop shows, you know that a warrant is something police need to get into your house — a permission slip from a judge. It's a noun! It's a verb! It's a word that warrants our attention! As a noun, it's the piece of paper they show you through the keyhole during an investigation. It's also a reason for doing something, or a promise (think of the warranty on your new car, the promise that it'll work for a certain amount of time). As a verb, it means to make something seem reasonable or necessary, such as when the ticking suitcase warrants bringing in the bomb squad, or when the teenager's sneaking in late again warrants a stricter curfew.
Vocabulary lists containing warrant
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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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:
But hours later, King said Mullin called him to say the man was actually not the target of a warrant, his office told the BBC.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Senator Angus King of Maine told reporters he understood, based on a conversation with Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, that the victim was the subject of an ICE arrest warrant over his immigration status.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
During the session, selling was intense enough to warrant brief halting of trade.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter, Hannah Natanson, earlier this year as part of an investigation into alleged mishandling of classified information by a government contractor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
"I think you have been shown that the subsequent history and progress of the case only warrant us in saying that physically, the recovery was quite complete," says Dr. Harlow.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
The Thai telecommunications company warrants a valuation premium, partly supported by its resilient operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The court also handed down a significant Fourth Amendment ruling on geofence warrants, with Justice Kagan writing for a 6-3 majority that such warrants constitute a “search” under the Fourth Amendment.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
Defending the use of geofence warrants, the government argued that a smartphone user can always choose to turn off location services.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
The new and disputed geofence warrants seek to find a suspect by examining data on the cellphones that were at the scene of a crime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Christina laughs, maybe a little harder than my comment warrants, but I appreciate the effort.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
Now, investors are “reassessing whether the valuations being assigned to some of these companies are warranted after their run-up,” Mike Reynolds, vice president of investment strategy at Glenmede, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
It said that Rhodes "thoroughly warranted a long minimum term", but that aspects of the case should have further aggravated the sentence.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Some of it, probably, was warranted or in the spirited mission of liberty, as some will undoubtedly argue, but far from all of it.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Nine saw higher rates as warranted by year-end, eight favored holding, and one penciled in a cut.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
In fact, King specifically stated on numerous occasions that he believed special—even preferential—treatment for African Americans may be warranted in light of their unique circumstances.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Each of these names is demonstrating renewed momentum, warranting a fresh look from investors seeking potential upside in sectors where leadership has already rotated.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
That would give greater cause for concern about U.K. inflation persistence, over that of weaker demand, warranting slower withdrawal of monetary-policy restriction, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
The group stands out within the increasingly desolate Facebook newsfeed, not just for the volume of its posts but also the intensity of engagement, warranting a 30-person-strong moderation team.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2024
A five-judge panel wrote in a three-page decision that Trump’s “contention that the conclusion of trial constitutes a change in circumstances warranting termination of the remaining Restraining Order provision is unavailing.”
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2024
It is to be said after the lapse of thirty years for examination, that not a tittle of evidence has been found warranting any imputation upon his integrity.
From Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs, Vol. 2 by Boutwell, George S.
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.
