Meaning of authority in English

authority

noun

/ɔːˈθɒr.ə.ti/ us

/əˈθɔːr.ə.t̬i/

authority noun (POWER)

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B2 [ U ]

the moral or legal right or ability to control:

The United Nations has used/exerted/exercised its authority to restore peace in the area.

We need to get the support of someone in authority (= an important or high-ranking person).

They've been acting illegally and without authority (= permission) from the council.

[ + to infinitive ] I'll give my lawyers authority (= permission) to act on my behalf.

He has no authority over (= ability to control) his students.

She spoke with authority (= as if she was in control or had special knowledge).

C1 [ C ]

a group of people with official responsibility for a particular area of activity:

the health authority

the local housing authority

the authorities [ plural ]

the group of people with official legal power to make decisions or make people obey the laws in a particular area, such as the police or a local government department:

I'm going to report these potholes to the authorities.

More examplesFewer examples

A good teacher has an easy authority over a class.
Our new administrator seems to be trying to stamp her authority on every aspect of the department.
The prime minister succeeded in surviving the challenge to his authority.
He has no respect for authority whatsoever.
Children challenge their parents' authority far more nowadays than they did in the past.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

People in charge of or controlling other people

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authority noun (EXPERT)

C2 [ C ]

an expert on a subject:

She's a world authority on 19th-century Irish history.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Experts and specialists

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Idiom

have something on good authority

(Definition of authority from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

authority | American Dictionary

authority

noun [ C/U ]

/əˈθɔr·ɪ·t̬i, əˈθɑr-/

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the power to control or demand obedience from others:

[ U ] The police have no legal authority in these disputes.

[ U ] We have to find someone in authority (= a position of power).

An authority is someone with official responsibility for a particular area of activity:

[ C ] government/church authorities

The authorities are the police or other government officials:

No attacks were reported to the authorities.

An authority on a subject is an expert on it:

[ C ] an authority on immigration law

(Definition of authority from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

authority | Business English

authority

noun

/ɔːˈθɒrəti/ us

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[ U ]

the official power to make decisions for other people or to tell them what they must do:

The Executive Committee can delegate authority to the Chairperson.

He did not have enough authority within the company to make the decision.

the authority to do sth The federal government has the authority to regulate phone service provided over the internet.

authority over sb The accrediting board is the legal body with authority over the institution.

[ U ]

official permission or the legal right to do something:

grant/give sb authority to do sth Under the new plan, counties would be given the authority to raise sales tax levels.

the authority to do sth The company had the owner's authority to contract on his behalf.

[ usually plural ] GOVERNMENT

an official organization, often created by the government, which is responsible for managing a particular duty or service:

the authorities All staff who work at the school must be registered and checked by the authorities.

the housing/transit/tax authority The city's housing authority provides assisted housing for more than 130,000 residents.

[ U ]

the ability to influence other people and make them respect you, especially because you are confident or have a lot of knowledge:

When answering questions at a job interview, be sure to speak clearly and with authority.

As a manager he lacks authority.

[ C ]

someone who is an expert on a particular subject, and whose opinions influence other people:

an authority on sth Today's speaker is one of the nation's leading authorities on fund-raising for non-profit groups.

Examples of authority

authority

Classical models and authorities were also sources for perceptions of nature, the countryside and their inhabitants.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We are grateful to the staff in the five authorities for participating in the exercise and providing the information for the study.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The degree to which price was used in the decision-making of social services authorities was, however, important in mediating the effects of the change.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

With the exception of some new funding for local authorities to facilitate recruitment and retention in social care generally, this remains the case.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They were forced to co-operate with the authorities who were making cultural policy, and required to articulate their positions in society.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If there are no threats to identified sites, national authorities may be able to justify maintaining the status quo.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Firstly, launching an initiative enables agenda-setting, since authorities are forced to deal with the issue at stake.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

On average, each inspector is responsible for 21 schools in six separate local authorities that employ 621 teachers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Regulations are rules and directives imposed by authorities to mandate behaviour in accordance with public policy.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In any event, the authorities tried to hold an e election to give the facade of democracy, while ensuring that the desired results occurred.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Local authorities clearly seem most concerned with civil society activity in areas of political opposition.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The identification of this common good is made, in the last resort, by political authorities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The case was brought before the military authorities in 875\1470.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In addition, cooperation between different authorities and contacts with mass media are mandatory.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

On this account, conven tions not only guide legal of ficials to the appropriate authorities, but they would impose obligations upon them to do so.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of authority

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with authority

authority

These are words often used in combination with authority.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

absolute authority

The strict style lost its aura of absolute authority and was written into a linear model of history.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

apparent authority

But in fact we commonly distinguish between real and perceived or apparent authority and between de jure and merely de facto authority.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

appropriate authority

They illustrate the close relationship of religion and nascent whiggism because of their account of appropriate authority, and the illegitimacy of allowing freedom of worship but retaining civil disabilities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with authority

What is the pronunciation of authority?

Translations of authority

in Chinese (Traditional)

權力, 威信, 管轄權…

in Chinese (Simplified)

权力, 威信, 管辖权…

in Spanish

autoridad, experto, experta…

in Portuguese

autoridade, autoridade [feminine]…

in more languages

in Marathi

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in Italian

अधिकार, हूकमत, अधिकारी…

支配力, 権力, 機関…

yetki, otorite, yasal…

autorité [feminine], pouvoir [masculine], autorités [feminine…

autoritat…

machtiging, autoriteit, overheid…

தார்மீக அல்லது சட்ட உரிமை அல்லது கட்டுப்படுத்தும் திறன், ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட பகுதிக்கு உத்தியோகபூர்வ பொறுப்பைக் கொண்ட நபர்களின் குழு, ஒரு விஷயத்தில் நிபுணர்…

अधिकार, आधिपत्य, (किसी क्षेत्र का आधिकारिक दायित्व) प्राधिकरण…

નિયંત્રણ, અધિકાર, અધિકારી…

myndighed, autoritet, ekspert…

[laga] rätt, befogenhet, auktoritet…

kuasa, pakar, pihak berkuasa…

die Befugnis, die Vollmacht, die Autorität…

myndighet [masculine], makt [masculine], etat [masculine]…

اختیار, طاقت, اقتدار…

повноваження, авторитет, органи влади…

власть, власти, авторитет…

అధికారం / అదుపులో ఉంచడానికి నైతిక లేదా న్యాయపరమైన హక్కు లేదా సమర్థత, ఒక ప్రత్యేకమైన కార్యరంగంలో అధికారిక బాధ్యత కలిగిన వ్యక్తుల బృందం, ఒక విషయంపై నిపుణుడు…

سُلْطة, هَيْئة…

কর্তৃপক্ষ, নৈতিক বা আইনি অধিকার বা নিয়ন্ত্রণ করার ক্ষমতা, সরকারের বিভাগীয় দপ্তরের কাজকর্মের দায়িত্বে থাকা উচ্চপদস্থ ব্যক্তিগণ…

pravomoc, odborník, úřady…

wewenang, ahli, penguasa…

อำนาจหน้าที่, ผู้ที่รอบรู้, ฝ่ายบริหาร…

quyền lực, chuyên gia, người có thẩm quyền…