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license

license

2.2
Official permission to do something shown on a document
  • noun
  • /ˈlaɪsəns/
  • US
translation icon : licencia
  • You can vote with your gun license, but not your student ID.
  • driver's license
  • license fee
  • issue licenses

Your Uncle Matt would just hand me his license, show it to him.

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Examples

  • You guys know I got my esthetician license last year.

  • So then think end of September got my private pilots license so I flew the Warrior.

  • Then you have the license for the personal data.

  • How can we trust you with the license of the state government?

  • So now all I need is a license and a live wire.

  • I didn't expect that license photo to be that bad.

  • They have passed their exams, they hold an active medical license, OK, number one.

  • When Takahashi applied for a license in 1945, he was denied.

    Academic text (2017)
  • I don't believe any other power plants have licenses of that sort.

  • Before you can start driving, you need to obtain a license from the local authorities.

Synonyms

permission
vslicense
1.0

Official approval that lets you do something

also covers the official paper that shows that consent or right
approval
vslicense
  • Formal
400 1.6

Official permission to do something from a person or group in charge

focuses more on the right or its proof than just agreement
permit
vslicense
262 2.1

An official paper that lets someone do something

is broader, meaning the official right or the paper that proves that right
authority
vslicense
235 3.1

Official permission to do something

is the granted right or the document proving that right rather than the issuer
authorization
vslicense
  • US
125 4.4

Official permission to do something

tends to mean the right itself or the paper proving that right

Antonyms

61 2.8

Refusing a request or saying something is not true

prohibition
  • Formal
48 4.4

An official rule that stops people from doing something

Compounds

179 1.7

An official card that lets a person drive a car

124 1.6

A plate on vehicles like cars that shows the registration number

24 2.8

An official paper from the government that allows two people to marry

17 1.0

Numbers or letters on a car's number plate that identify the vehicle

16 3.8

Official permission to sell alcoholic drinks

5 1.5

An official document that lets a person drive a car on public roads

5 3.0

Official permission to hunt certain animals in a set area and time

4 3.1

A payment to the government to allow you to do a job or business legally

4 2.4

A permit that lets you fish legally

poetic license
  • Literature
2 6.7

Freedom a writer or artist takes to change facts to make a story stronger

license tax
  • Formal
1 5.2

A fee the government charges to get permission to sell things or do some jobs

1 2.6

An official paper that allows two people to marry

license number
  • Specialized
1 2.9

A code you enter to activate software or an online service

3.7

An official card showing you finished a safety course and can operate certain boats

crayon license
  • Baby Talk
8.4

A playful certificate that teachers give young children to show they can use crayons

game license
  • Formal
5.1

Official paper that lets a person hunt a specific animal like deer or turkey during a set time

6.7

Official permission to work in a particular job

on-license
  • Specialized
7.9

Official permission to sell alcohol for people to drink in a bar or restaurant

How Authorized

to charter
  • Formal
15 6.0
accreditation
  • Formal
20 6.1
license
  • US
2.2
permission
1.0

Surface Forms

license singular
licenses plural
licences plural
licence singular

Etymology

License comes from the Latin licentia, which meant 'freedom', and from licere, 'to be allowed'. So a license is an official permission or document that lets you do something.