warrant

[ wawr-uhnt, wor- ]

/ ˈwɔr ənt, ˈwɒr- /

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See synonyms for: warrant / warranted / warranting / warrants 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).

OTHER WORDS FOR warrant

2 warranty, surety.

4 permit, voucher, writ, order, chit.

10 justify, uphold, validate, vindicate.

11 guarantee, attest, swear.

See synonyms for warrant on Thesaurus.com

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM warrant

war·rant·less, adjectivepre·war·rant, noun, verb (used with object)re·war·rant, verb (used with object)self-war·rant·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use warrant in a sentence

Wayne Huggins, executive director of the Virginia State Police Association, has praised efforts to improve training but has said no-knock warrants are needed at times to prevent the loss of life or the destruction of evidence.
Ban on chokeholds, no-knock warrants among bills Northam signed into law|Laura Vozzella|October 28, 2020|Washington Post
Before the warrant could be obtained, Anderson-Agimuk left the police station on the advice of an attorney.
Alaska’s “Him Too” Moment: When Politicians and Allies Come With Accusations of Their Own|by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News and Greg Kim, KYUK|October 23, 2020|ProPublica
Still, about 40 percent or more of these New Yorkers typically miss their court date, usually scheduled for 60 to 90 days after the citation is issued, resulting in an arrest warrant.
Easy interventions like revamping forms help people show up to court|Sujata Gupta|October 8, 2020|Science News
The law allows British authorities to examine, without a warrant, which servers a person connected to and when.
European countries can’t collect everyone’s Internet traffic and location data all the time, top court rules|David Meyer|October 6, 2020|Fortune

If there is a valid warrant and the issuing agency will take custody of the person, by law the police must make an arrest, it said.
The Startling Reach and Disparate Impact of Cleveland Clinic’s Private Police Force|by David Armstrong|September 28, 2020|ProPublica
In warranting your safe passage to the Duke's court, and your safe return from it to your own country, I think I cannot fail.
Anne of Geierstein, Volume I (of 2)|Sir Walter Scott
This exemption should not be taken as warranting a general exercise of the right of asylum on board vessels of war.
International Law|George Grafton Wilson and George Fox Tucker
Nor is it always necessary to inflict lawful punishment, many circumstances warranting its remission.
Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 2|Henry Hallam
Then, on the other hand, he has the right and duty of warranting his men.
Domesday Book and Beyond|Frederic William Maitland
Was Mr. Aubrey to be seduced into an act warranting them in proceeding to instant extremities against him?
Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 3.|Samuel Warren

British Dictionary definitions for warrant

warrant

/ (ˈwɒrənt) /

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 forms of warrant

warrantable, adjectivewarrantability, nounwarrantably, adverbwarranter, noun

warrantless, 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

Other Idioms and Phrases with warrant

warrant

see sign one's own death warrant.

warrant

OTHER WORDS FOR warrant

Origin of warrant

OTHER WORDS FROM warrant

Words related to warrant

How to use warrant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for warrant

Derived forms of warrant

Word Origin for warrant

Other Idioms and Phrases with warrant