permission

noun

per·​mis·​sion pər-ˈmi-shən 

1

: the act of permitting

2

: formal consent : authorization

Synonyms of permission

• consent
• authorization
• granting
• permit
• license

Examples of permission in a Sentence

They got permission from the city to build an apartment complex.

The teacher gave me her permission to go home early.

Recent Examples on the Web

Constant said failure to appear charges, often due to the bus being late, a lack of childcare or permission to take the day off from work, are driving Connecticut’s pretrial population. — Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026

Friedman said Forbes’ employee handbook—which, according to the Times, requires staff to seek permission before engaging in outside business activities and bars personal gain from company relationships—likely functions as a binding contract. — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026

Districts should also create clear, renewable educational-use permissions for students whose coursework or extracurricular activities require personal devices. — Kavin Bendre, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026

Beatty sued over the changes, arguing the board doesn't have the authority to temporarily shutter the Kennedy Center or change its name without permission from Congress. — Joe Walsh, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin permission-, permissio, from permittere

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for permission

• addition
• admission
• ambition
• attrition
• audition
• clinician
• cognition
• coition
• commission
• condition
• contrition
• dentition

Kids Definition

permission

noun

per·​mis·​sion pər-ˈmish-ən 

1

: the act of permitting

2

: the consent of a person in authority

has permission to leave