official document
- noun
- /əˈfɪʃəl ˈdɑkjʊmənt/
- Formal
- These are the official documents required to confirm your identity.
- important official document
Examples
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I have all the official documents from the Sultan's office and from the American Embassy.
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Well, a P45 is the official document given to an employee when his services are no longer required by his, or her, employer.
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I sent him an official document.
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Have you ever lied on any official document?
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These are the official documents dealing with the violation of the student visa.
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In my experience, both the client and the agency consistently verified every official document that our office produced.
Blog text (33) -
No written histories exist, and few official documents survive.
Academic text (1998) -
First, she struck Charles's name from all official documents.
Fiction book (1999) -
The unbelievable story has come to light after the Indianapolis star obtained hundreds of pages of official documents related to the case.
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The actual number is probably greater than indicated by the official documents (which number 6,175 in those years).
Academic text (2015)
Synonyms
A written agreement between people or companies that the law can enforce
A paper or electronic file that gives official information
An official paper that gives permission to do something, for example a court order
A document that proves something is true, like a qualification or ownership
An official document that creates an organization and sets its rights and purpose
An official paper that tells a person or group to do something
A legal document that records an agreement or gives a right
Written information that explains how to use a machine or computer program
An official document a government must keep and let people read
A written document that gives official permission or instruction
An official paper that proves something is true or someone is qualified
Official documents that show who you are or give legal information
An official paper that records an agreement, right, or contract
A document that writes down what two or more people agree to
A formal paper that gives information or records facts
A formal written document that creates a legal right or agreement
How Official
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning—a formally authorized or recognized written record—is directly derived from combining 'official' (formally authorized) with 'document' (a written record). This adjective+noun composition follows regular compositional semantics and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the phrase.
Etymology
The phrase official document comes from the idea of a document made in an office by someone in power, a paper signed or stamped by an official. That's why today it means a formal paper from an authority that 'proves' or 'grants' a right.