a certificate, tag, document, etc, giving official permission to do something formal permission or exemption liberty of action or thought; freedom intentional disregard of or deviation from conventional rules to achieve a certain effect: poetic licence excessive freedom
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
li•cense /ˈlaɪsəns/USA pronunciation
n., v., -censed, -cens•ing.
n.
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025n.
- a certificate, tag, plate, etc., giving proof of permission from a government or other authority to do something:[countable]a driver's license.
- Literature deliberate moving away from or exaggeration of a rule, principle, or standard, as for the sake of literary or artistic effect:[uncountable]poetic license.
v. [~ + object]
- to issue or grant a license to:The city licenses those hot dog stands.
li•cence
(lī′səns),USA pronunciation n., v.t. -cenced, -cenc•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- license.
li•cense
(lī′səns),USA pronunciation n., v., -censed, -cens•ing.
n.
v.t.
li′cens•a•ble, adj.
li′cense•less, adj.
li′cens•er;
[esp. Law,] li′cen•sor, n.
n.
- formal permission from a governmental or other constituted authority to do something, as to carry on some business or profession.
- a certificate, tag, plate, etc., giving proof of such permission;
official permit:a driver's license. - permission to do or not to do something.
- Literatureintentional deviation from rule, convention, or fact, as for the sake of literary or artistic effect:poetic license.
- exceptional freedom allowed in a special situation.
- excessive or undue freedom or liberty.
- licentiousness.
- the legal right to use a patent owned by another.
v.t.
- to grant authoritative permission or license to.
- Medieval Latin licentia authorization, Latin: freedom, equivalent. to licent- (stem of licēns, present participle of licēre to be allowed) + -ia -ia; see -ence
- Middle French
- Middle English licence 1325–75
li′cense•less, adj.
li′cens•er;
[esp. Law,] li′cen•sor, n.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
to grant or give a licence for (something, such as the sale of alcohol) to give permission to or for