Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. authority, authorization, authorisation, potency, dominance, say-so(noun)

   the power or right to give orders or make decisions

   "he has the authority to issue warrants"; "deputies are given authorization to make arrests"; "a place of potency in the state"

2. authority(noun)

   (usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others

   "the authorities have issued a curfew"

3. authority(noun)

   an expert whose views are taken as definitive

   "he is an authority on corporate law"

4. assurance, self-assurance, confidence, self-confidence, authority, sureness(noun)

   freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities

   "his assurance in his superiority did not make him popular"; "after that failure he lost his confidence"; "she spoke with authority"

5. agency, federal agency, government agency, bureau, office, authority(noun)

   an administrative unit of government

   "the Central Intelligence Agency"; "the Census Bureau"; "Office of Management and Budget"; "Tennessee Valley Authority"

6. authority, authorization, authorisation, sanction(noun)

   official permission or approval

   "authority for the program was renewed several times"

7. authority(noun)

   an authoritative written work

   "this book is the final authority on the life of Milton"

Wiktionary(4.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. authority(Noun)

   The power to enforce rules or give orders.

2. authority(Noun)

   Persons in command; specifically, government.

3. authority(Noun)

   A person accepted as a source of reliable information on a subject.

   The world's foremost authority on orangutans.

Origin: autorite, from auctorité, from stem of auctoritas, from auctor

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Authority(noun)

   legal or rightful power; a right to command or to act; power exercised buy a person in virtue of his office or trust; dominion; jurisdiction; authorization; as, the authority of a prince over subjects, and of parents over children; the authority of a court

2. Authority(noun)

   government; the persons or the body exercising power or command; as, the local authorities of the States; the military authorities

3. Authority(noun)

   the power derived from opinion, respect, or esteem; influence of character, office, or station, or mental or moral superiority, and the like; claim to be believed or obeyed; as, an historian of no authority; a magistrate of great authority

4. Authority(noun)

   that which, or one who, is claimed or appealed to in support of opinions, actions, measures, etc

5. Authority(noun)

   testimony; witness

6. Authority(noun)

   a precedent; a decision of a court, an official declaration, or an opinion, saying, or statement worthy to be taken as a precedent

7. Authority(noun)

   a book containing such a statement or opinion, or the author of the book

8. Authority(noun)

   justification; warrant

Origin: [OE. autorite, auctorite, F. autorit, fr. L. auctoritas, fr. auctor. See Author, n.]

Freebase(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Authority

   The word authority is derived from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word authority can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area. The word Authority with capital A refers to the governing body upon which such authority is vested; for example, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority or the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Authority

   awth-or′it-i, n. legal power or right: power derived from office or character: weight of testimony: permission:—pl. Author′ities, precedents: opinions or sayings carrying weight: persons in power.—adj. Author′itative, having the sanction or weight of authority: dictatorial.—adv. Author′itatively.—n. Author′itativeness. [L. auctoritatem, auctoritas, auctor.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. authority

   The authority symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the authority symbol and its characteristic.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'authority' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #514

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'authority' in Written Corpus Frequency: #697

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'authority' in Nouns Frequency: #77

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of authority in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of authority in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

1. David Heymann:

   The world looks for an authority.

2. James Eagan Holmes:

   I'd say I was on my own authority.

3. Peter Nivio Zarlenga:

   No authority is higher than reality.

4. A. J. Ayer:

   No moral system can rest solely on authority.

5. Ralph Waldo Emerson:

   The faith that stand on authority is not faith.

Images & Illustrations of authority