building permit
9
3.4
- noun
- /ˈbɪldɪŋ pərˈmɪt/
- Formal
:
permiso de construcción
- As of August, there have been 397 building permits for single-family residences in Allen County.
- building permit issued
Examples
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Today, about twenty-two thousand buildings are constructed without building permits.
Academic text (2006) -
Before you start construction, ensure you have obtained a building permit from the local authorities.
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Would you show us your building permit?
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OK, well, this guy says if he can just get a building permit he'll have your money by the end of the day.
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Several years ago, a local restaurant applied for a building permit.
Blog text (26) -
I could borrow money in a few seconds if I had a building permit.
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Every day, all over the country, cities, towns, and counties deny building permits for inappropriate uses.
Blog text (22) -
Soon afterwards, the Archbishop applied for a building permit so construction to enlarge the church could proceed.
Academic text (1997) -
By August 1990, 10 months after Hugo, only 10 building permits had been issued by the town for beachfront structures.
Academic text (1991) -
Minneapolis led the metro area in building permits issued in August, followed by Blaine.
Blog text (14)
Synonyms
262
2.1
An official paper that lets someone do something
How Official
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an official document granting permission to construct…' is directly derivable from 'building' (relating to construction) combined with 'permit' (a document granting permission). This is a productive noun–noun compound that follows regular English composition patterns and is cross‑linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Building permit comes from the simple image of an official paper that lets you build, where building is the construction and permit is the paper giving 'permission'. That's why it means an official paper that allows you to start construction.