Definitions for authority
əˈθɔr ɪ ti, əˈθɒr-au·thor·i·ty

Princeton's WordNet(3.60 / 5 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(3.25 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. authority(Noun)

   The power to enforce rules or give orders.

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

2. authority(Noun)

   Persons in command; specifically, government.

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

3. authority(Noun)

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

   The world's foremost authority on orangutans.

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

Webster Dictionary(4.50 / 2 votes)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

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

2. Authority(noun)

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

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

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

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

4. Authority(noun)

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

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

5. Authority(noun)

   testimony; witness

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

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

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

7. Authority(noun)

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

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

8. Authority(noun)

   justification; warrant

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

Freebase(3.75 / 4 votes)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(5.00 / 2 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.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. authority

   The legal power or right of commanding.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. authority

   In a general acceptation of the term, signifies a right to command and a consequent right to be obeyed. For the appointment of officers of the U. S. army, see Appointing Power. It appears that the sovereigns of Great Britain and other nations have the power to appoint and dismiss officers at pleasure.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. authority

   Official right to make a specific decision.

   They do have the authority to create legislation.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 5, 2020  

Suggested Resources(1.00 / 1 vote)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

How to pronounce authority?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say authority in sign language?

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

Examples of authority in a Sentence

1. R Chamberlain:

   A foolish man in wealth and authority is like a weak-timbered house with a too-ponderous roof.

2. William Penn:

   Believe nothing against another but on good authority; and never report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to some other to conceal it.

3. Martha Brown:

   Some of the students were very upset and confused. I told the children, ‘This is a place where you need to respect authority even if you don’t understand it,’?.

4. Bill Clinton:

   I believe that you take whatever happens to you in a negotiation and you try to leverage it, in this case, I believe that one of the ways the president could get fast-track authority is to deal with the legitimate concerns of those Democrats who are potential 'yes' voters, to see what within the negotiation — or what's even in the existing framework agreement that is being drafted — could be modified or changed.

5. Marco Rubio:

   Bureaucrats at the VA are not commanding officers. They should never have the authority to order around our returning heroes, as soon as the VA is forced to compete with the private sector providers, it will increase the efficiency, the service and its innovation.

Images & Illustrations of authority

Popularity rank by frequency of use