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authorize - 5 dictionary results

au⋅thor⋅ize

  [aw-thuh-rahyz]
Use authorize in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -ized, -iz⋅ing.
1. to give authority or official power to; empower: to authorize an employee to sign purchase orders.
2. to give authority for; formally sanction (an act or proceeding): Congress authorized the new tax on tobacco.
3. to establish by authority or usage: an arrangement long authorized by etiquette books.
4. to afford a ground for; warrant; justify.
Also, especially British, au⋅thor⋅ise.

Origin:
1350–1400; earlier auctorize < ML auctōrizāre; r. ME autorisen < MF autoriser < ML. See author, -ize

Related forms:
au⋅thor⋅iz⋅a⋅ble, adjective
au⋅thor⋅iz⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To authorize
au·thor·ize   (ô'thə-rīz')   
tr.v.   au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es
  1. To grant authority or power to.
  2. To give permission for; sanction: the city agency that authorizes construction projects.
  3. To be sufficient grounds for; justify.

[Middle English auctorisen, from Old French autoriser, from Medieval Latin auctōrizāre, from Latin auctor, author; see author.]
au'thor·iz'er n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to give someone the authority to act: authorized her partner to negotiate on her behalf; a representative who was accredited by his government; commissioned the real-estate agent to purchase the house; was empowered to make decisions during the president's absence; a pharmacist licensed to practice in two states.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Authorize

Au"thor*ize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Authorized; p. pr. & vb. n. Authorizing.] [OE. autorize, F. autoriser, fr. LL. auctorizare, authorisare. See Author.]

1. To clothe with authority, warrant, or legal power; to give a right to act; to empower; as, to authorize commissioners to settle a boundary.

2. To make legal; to give legal sanction to; to legalize; as, to authorize a marriage.

3. To establish by authority, as by usage or public opinion; to sanction; as, idioms authorized by usage.

4. To sanction or confirm by the authority of some one; to warrant; as, to authorize a report.

A woman's story at a winter's fire, Authorized by her grandam. --Shak.

5. To justify; to furnish a ground for. --Locke.

To authorize one's self, to rely for authority. [Obs.]

Authorizing himself, for the most part, upon other histories. --Sir P. Sidney.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : authorize
Spanish: autorizar,
German: bevollmächtigen, genehmigen,
Japanese: 権限を与える
More Translations »

authorize 
"give formal approval to," c.1383, from O.Fr. autoriser, from M.L. auctorizare, from auctor (see author).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: au·tho·rize
Pronunciation: 'o-th&-"rIz
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -rized; -riz·ing
1 : to give permission to
2 : to give authority to act to —au·tho·ri·za·tion /"o-th&-r&-'zA-sh&n/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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