license

1 of 2

noun

li·​cense ˈlī-sᵊn(t)s 

variants or licence

1

a

: permission to act

b

: freedom of action

2

a

: a permission granted by competent authority to engage in a business or occupation or in an activity otherwise unlawful

a hunting license

b

: a document, plate, or tag evidencing a license granted

c

: a grant by the holder of a copyright or patent to another of any of the rights embodied in the copyright or patent short of an assignment of all rights

3

a

: freedom that allows or is used with irresponsibility

Freedom of the press should not be turned into license.

b

: disregard for standards of personal conduct : licentiousness

4

: deviation from fact, form, or rule by an artist or writer for the sake of the effect gained

poetic license

license

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly licence

licensed also licenced; licensing also licencing

transitive verb

1

a

: to issue a license to

b

: to permit or authorize especially by formal license

2

: to give permission or consent to : allow

licensable

ˈlī-sᵊn(t)-sə-bəl 

adjective

licensor

ˈlī-sᵊn(t)-sər 

ˌli-sᵊn-ˈsȯr

noun

or less commonly licenser

ˈlī-sᵊn(t)-sər 

Did you know?

The Shared Roots of License and Licentious

License and licentious come ultimately from the same word in Latin, licentia, whose meanings ranged from "freedom to act" to "unruly behavior, wantonness." The Latin noun was itself derived from the verb licere "to be permitted." Though we are likely to associate license with the card that grants freedom or permission to operate a motor vehicle and licentious with sexual wantonness, in actuality, there is considerable semantic overlap between the two words. Poetic license refers to deviation from a (usually) literary norm for some purposeful effect. A person who takes license with something (or someone) engages in "abusive disregard for rules of personal conduct." Hence, the semantic range of license in English mirrors that of its Latin antecedent, suggesting either permission or transgression, depending upon the context. Licentious, on the other hand, always implies excessive, transgressive freedom, as is true of its immediate Latin source, licentiosus "unrestrained, wanton" (literally, "full of freedom").

Synonyms

Noun

• allowance
• authorization
• clearance
• concurrence
• consent
• granting
• green light
• leave
• permission
• sanction
• sufferance
• warrant

Verb

• accredit
• authorize
• certify
• charter [British]
• commission
• empower
• enable
• invest
• qualify
• vest
• warrant

Choose the Right Synonym for license

freedom, liberty, license mean the power or condition of acting without compulsion.

freedom has a broad range of application from total absence of restraint to merely a sense of not being unduly hampered or frustrated.

freedom of the press

liberty suggests release from former restraint or compulsion.

the released prisoner had difficulty adjusting to his new liberty

license implies freedom specially granted or conceded and may connote an abuse of freedom.

freedom without responsibility may degenerate into license

Examples of license in a Sentence

Noun

The restaurant's owner applied for a license to sell liquor.

His job as a reporter gives him license to go anywhere and ask anything.

Verb

The restaurant has now been licensed to sell liquor.

a new drug licensed by the government

The company licensed its name to others.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Related: Colombia issues a compulsory license for an HIV medicine and ‘plants a flag for global health equity’ Countries have been debating for two years about whether to even include IP in the pandemic agreement. —Cynthia M. Ho, STAT, 28 Apr. 2024

In April 2021, Ramos de Ruiz was charged individual counts of racketeering and fraud, as well as five counts of practicing medicine without a license, six counts of money laundering, four counts of tax evasion and seven counts of willful failure to collect and pay taxes. —Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 26 Apr. 2024

Nearly half of all violations (not including contempt of court) were for violations of law related to driver’s licenses, vehicle registration or insurance or inspection stickers. —Lee Zurik, ProPublica, 26 Apr. 2024

The smoke shop has been operating without a license since at least December 2022, according to a letter from the city to owner Elvin Boone. —Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024

Exporters must renew export licenses every year and will be required to file more thorough purchase orders in many countries. —David Kocieniewski / Bloomberg, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024

Participants seeking to drive a vehicle must register in advance, provide a valid driver’s license and sign an electronic waiver. —The Arizona Republic, 26 Apr. 2024

Ask other drivers for a license, car registration and insurance ID. Report the crash to police or highway patrol. —Olivia Lloyd, Charlotte Observer, 26 Apr. 2024

In court filings, Gerdes said Siefert has agreed to surrender his Kentucky medical license and will never practice medicine again. —Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 24 Apr. 2024

Verb

State records show Portillo wasn’t licensed for security work. —Calmatters, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024

To get popular songs on the service, the company licensed the library of longtime karaoke company Stingray Karaoke. —Kristin Robinson, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024

Remembering John Lennon and Paul McCartney's Last Recording Together — Four Years After the Beatles’ Split The film had previously been released on video formats in 1980, but had not been previously licensed for release on DVD, Blu-ray or streaming, according to Billboard. —Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024

Senate Resolution 13, which would require crypto mines to be licensed under the Uniform Money Services Act. —Neal Earley, arkansasonline.com, 11 Apr. 2024

If a venue has licensing agreements in place, the venues’ artists are free to cover any song from the PROs’ repertory. —Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024

The wildly popular show has been a fixture on the Strip for 18 years and was the only live show that was licensed to use the Beatles’ music catalog. —Chris Morris, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024

The vessel was an overloaded fishing boat and was not licensed to transport people, Lourenco Machado, an administrator of INSTRASMAR, said on state television on Monday. —Reuters, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024

To make money, Imax licenses its technology — its screens, sound systems and projectors — to various theater companies. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French licence, from Latin licentia, from licent-, licens, present participle of licēre to be permitted

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing license

• a license to print money
• driver's license
• license number
• license plate
• marriage license
• poetic license
• under license

Kids Definition

license

1 of 2 noun

li·​cense

variants or licence

ˈlīs-ᵊn(t)s 

1

a

: permission granted by qualified authority to do something

b

: a document, plate, or tag showing that such permission has been granted

2

: liberty of action that is carried too far

license

2 of 2 verb

variants also licence

licensed also licenced; licensing also licencing

: to permit or authorize by license

licensable

ˈlīs-ᵊn-sə-bəl 

adjective

Medical Definition

license

noun

li·​cense

variants or chiefly British licence

ˈlīs-ᵊn(t)s 

: a permission granted by competent authority to engage in a business or occupation or in an activity otherwise unlawful

a license to practice medicine

license transitive verb

or chiefly British licence

licensed or chiefly British licenced; licensing or chiefly British licencing

Legal Definition

license

1 of 2 noun

li·​cense

ˈlīs-ᵊns

1

a

: a right or permission granted by a competent authority (as of a government or a business) to engage in some business or occupation, do some act, or engage in some transaction which would be unlawful without such right or permission

also : a document, plate, or tag evidencing a license granted

b

: revocable authority or permission given solely to one having no possessory rights in a tract of land to do something on that land which would otherwise be unlawful or a trespass compare easement, lease

c

: a grant by the holder of a copyright or patent to another of any of the rights embodied in the copyright or patent short of an assignment of all rights

2

: a defense (as to trespass) that one's act was in accordance with a license granted

3

a

: freedom that allows or is used with irresponsibility

b

: disregard for standards of personal conduct : licentiousness

license

2 of 2 transitive verb

licensed; licensing

1

: to issue a license to

2

: to permit or authorize by a license

Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French, literally, permission, from Old French, from Latin licentia, from licent- licens, present participle of licēre to be permitted, be for sale