license

[ lahy-suhns ]
See synonyms for: licenselicensed on Thesaurus.com

nounAlso especially British, li·cence .
  1. formal permission from a governmental or other constituted authority to do something, as to carry on some business or profession.

  2. a certificate, tag, plate, etc., giving proof of such permission; official permit: a driver's license.

  1. permission to do or not to do something.

  2. intentional deviation from rule, convention, or fact, as for the sake of literary or artistic effect: poetic license.

  3. exceptional freedom allowed in a special situation.

  4. excessive or undue freedom or liberty.

  5. the legal right to use a patent owned by another.

verb (used with object),li·censed, li·cens·ing.
  1. to grant authoritative permission or license to.

Origin of license

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English licence, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin licentia “authorization,” Latin: “freedom,” equivalent to licent- (stem of licēns, present participle of licēre “to be allowed”) + -ia noun suffix; see -ia, -ence

Other words from license

  • li·cens·a·ble, adjective
  • li·cense·less, adjective
  • li·cens·or, li·cen·ser, noun
  • de-li·cense, verb (used with object), de-li·censed, de-li·cens·ing.
  • non·li·cens·a·ble, adjective
  • non·li·censed, adjective
  • pre·li·cense, noun, verb (used with object), pre·li·censed, pre·li·cens·ing.
  • re·li·cense, verb (used with object), re·li·censed, re·li·cens·ing.

Words that may be confused with license

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use license in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for license

license

/ (ˈlaɪsəns) /


verb(tr)
  1. to grant or give a licence for (something, such as the sale of alcohol)

  2. to give permission to or for

Derived forms of license

  • licensable, adjective
  • licenser or licensor, noun

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