authorize verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of authorize verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

authorize

verb
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪz/
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪz/
(British English also authorise)
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they authorize
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪz/
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪz/
he / she / it authorizes
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪzɪz/
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪzɪz/
past simple authorized
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪzd/
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪzd/
past participle authorized
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪzd/
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪzd/
-ing form authorizing
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪzɪŋ/
 
/ˈɔːθəraɪzɪŋ/
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  1. to give official permission for something, or for somebody to do something
    • authorize something I can authorize payments up to £5 000.
    • authorize somebody to do something I have authorized him to act for me while I am away.
    • The soldiers were authorized to shoot at will.
    Extra Examples
    • Taxes must be authorized by an Act of Parliament.
    • The manager had expressly authorized the goods to be removed.
    • She tried to break into a security file for which she was not authorized.
    • The Queen authorized her press secretary to demand an apology.
    • The police were authorized to record his phone conversations.
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryAuthorize is used with these nouns as the subject:
    • congress
    • law
    • president
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French autoriser, from medieval Latin auctorizare, from auctor, from augere ‘increase, originate, promote’.
See authorize in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee authorize in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 3000
A2
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