license

noun

li·cense | \ ˈlī-sᵊn(t)s

variants: or licence

Definition of license

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : permission to act

b : freedom of action

2a : a permission granted by competent authority to engage in a business or occupation or in an activity otherwise unlawful a hunting license

b : a document, plate, or tag evidencing a license granted

c : a grant by the holder of a copyright or patent to another of any of the rights embodied in the copyright or patent short of an assignment of all rights

3a : freedom that allows or is used with irresponsibility Freedom of the press should not be turned into license.

b : disregard for standards of personal conduct : licentiousness

4 : deviation from fact, form, or rule by an artist or writer for the sake of the effect gained poetic license

license

verb

variants: or less commonly licence

licensed also licenced; licensing also licencing

Definition of license (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to issue a license to

b : to permit or authorize especially by formal license

2 : to give permission or consent to : allow

Other Words from license Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym The Shared Roots of License and Licentious More Example Sentences Learn More about license

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Other Words from license

Noun

licensed \ ˈlī-sᵊn(t)st

\ adjective

Verb

licensable \ ˈlī-sᵊn(t)-sə-bəl

\ adjective

licensor \ ˈlī-sᵊn(t)-sər

, ˌli-sᵊn-ˈsȯr \ or less commonly licenser \ ˈlī-sᵊn(t)-sər

\ noun

Choose the Right Synonym for license

Noun

freedom, liberty, license mean the power or condition of acting without compulsion. freedom has a broad range of application from total absence of restraint to merely a sense of not being unduly hampered or frustrated. freedom of the press liberty suggests release from former restraint or compulsion. the released prisoner had difficulty adjusting to his new liberty license implies freedom specially granted or conceded and may connote an abuse of freedom. freedom without responsibility may degenerate into license

The Shared Roots of License and Licentious

License and licentious come ultimately from the same word in Latin, licentia, whose meanings ranged from "freedom to act" to "unruly behavior, wantonness." The Latin noun was itself derived from the verb licere "to be permitted." Though we are likely to associate license with the card that grants freedom or permission to operate a motor vehicle and licentious with sexual wantonness, in actuality, there is considerable semantic overlap between the two words. Poetic license refers to deviation from a (usually) literary norm for some purposeful effect. A person who takes license with something (or someone) engages in "abusive disregard for rules of personal conduct." Hence, the semantic range of license in English mirrors that of its Latin antecedent, suggesting either permission or transgression, depending upon the context. Licentious, on the other hand, always implies excessive, transgressive freedom, as is true of its immediate Latin source, licentiosus "unrestrained, wanton" (literally, "full of freedom").

Examples of license in a Sentence

Noun

The restaurant's owner applied for a license to sell liquor. His job as a reporter gives him license to go anywhere and ask anything.

Verb

The restaurant has now been licensed to sell liquor. a new drug licensed by the government The company licensed its name to others.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

But the Department of Corrections used that as license to interrogate and intimidate. — al.com, "Why does God need public records? In Alabama, that’s a real question.," 14 July 2019 That gave Bassitt full license to challenge the White Sox. — Ron Kroichick, SFChronicle.com, "Franklin Barreto swats three-run homer as A’s roll past White Sox," 13 July 2019 Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Holldendorfer isn’t expected to be afforded spaces, though his assistant, Dan Ward Jr. has acquired a trainer’s license and applied for stall space. — Tod Leonard, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Horsemen looking for fresh start at Del Mar after Santa Anita crisis," 13 July 2019 State officials are expected to begin awarding up to 10 licenses later this month. — Washington Post, "Utah farmers and entrepreneurs compete to grow medical pot," 12 July 2019 Walsh has lost her teacher's license and won't be able to teach again. — Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati.com, "Ex-Sycamore teacher, once charged with sex crime, sentenced to probation," 12 July 2019 Though its state license and Medicaid contract remain in peril, Hacienda's 60-bed intermediate-care facility is still open. — Stephanie Innes, azcentral, "A look inside the walls of embattled Hacienda HealthCare," 12 July 2019 The Carousel closed months after Ruby was arrested following the loss of the club's dance permit and beer license. — Maria Elena Vizcaino, Dallas News, "Nancy Myers, who danced as Tammi True at Jack Ruby's Carousel Club, dies at 81," 11 July 2019 The vast majority of American adults have driver’s licenses. — Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic, "ICE and the Ever-Widening Surveillance Dragnet," 10 July 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Deputies, who are licensed drone pilots, will use the drones to track down suspects, locate lost kids and investigate deadly crashes. — Karen Zurawski, Houston Chronicle, "SUNDAY CONVERSATION: Constable Heap receives state award for achievements," 14 July 2019 Special thanks to the Portland Tech Workshops for creating their Code of Conduct and licensing it under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. — ProPublica, "ProPublica Data Institute 2019," 5 July 2019 Eliminating the certificate of need program for hospitals may have been the easy part, but how to license them in the future may be more complex. — Christine Sexton, sun-sentinel.com, "Florida regulators float new rules in hospital wars," 5 July 2019 State inspectors found the daycare center in violation of several violations since they were licensed to operate as a daycare in February 2017, including for failing to train employees in CPR and failing to have a first-aid kit on site. — Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com, "2-month-old girl died in Cleveland daycare custody, negligence might have contributed to death, state investigation finds," 24 June 2019 The officer found multiple juveniles in the car out past curfew, and determined the driver was not licensed and had taken the vehicle without permission. — oregonlive.com, "Poison ivy itch can be dangerous behind the wheel: Forest Grove Police Log," 24 June 2019 Omar Avila is lucky — unlike most of the vendors who sell their wares along the bustling Santa Monica Pier, his pushcart is licensed, plastered with permits, and has an A grade from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. — Sonja Sharp, latimes.com, "Santa Monica street vendors struggle amid new licensing rules," 30 June 2019 But because of various corporate intellectual-property issues, Spider-Man, licensed to Sony by Marvel, didn’t at first mix with the Avengers, who are Disney guys. — New York Times, "Review: ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Is the Latest Iron Man Movie," 27 June 2019 Apple has for years made smartphone and tablet processors that far outperform chips from rivals, designing its own cores instead of licensing them from ARM, and that’s remained true even with ARM’s latest designs. — Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge, "Apple hires key ARM engineer in race to ditch Intel," 26 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'license.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Learn More about license

Dictionary Entries near license

licensed practical nurse

licensed premises

Statistics for license

Last Updated

17 Jul 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for license

The first known use of license was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for license

license

noun

English Language Learners Definition of license

(Entry 1 of 2)

: an official document, card, etc., that gives you permission to do, use, or have something

: freedom to act however you want to

: the freedom of an artist, writer, etc., to change the way something is described or shown in order to produce a work of art

license

verb

English Language Learners Definition of license (Entry 2 of 2)

: to give official permission to (someone or something) to do or use something : to give a license to (someone or something)

: to give official permission for (something)

: to allow the use of (a name, property, etc.) through a formal agreement

See the full definition for license in the English Language Learners Dictionary

license

noun

li·cense

variants: or licence \ ˈlī-sᵊns \

Kids Definition of license

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : permission to do something granted especially by qualified authority a license to sell food

2 : a paper, card, or tag showing legal permission a driver's license

3 : freedom of action that is carried too far Bitterly did she repent the license she had given her imagination.— Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

license

verb

variants: also licence

licensed also licenced; licensing also licencing

Kids Definition of license (Entry 2 of 2)

: to grant formal permission

license

noun

li·cense

variants: or chiefly British licence \ ˈlīs-ᵊn(t)s

Medical Definition of license

: a permission granted by competent authority to engage in a business or occupation or in an activity otherwise unlawful a license to practice medicine

Other Words from license

license or chiefly British licence transitive verb licensed or chiefly British licenced; licensing or chiefly British licencing

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license

noun

li·cense | \ ˈlīs-ᵊns\

Legal Definition of license

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a right or permission granted by a competent authority (as of a government or a business) to engage in some business or occupation, do some act, or engage in some transaction which would be unlawful without such right or permission also : a document, plate, or tag evidencing a license granted

b : revocable authority or permission given solely to one having no possessory rights in a tract of land to do something on that land which would otherwise be unlawful or a trespass — compare easement, lease

c : a grant by the holder of a copyright or patent to another of any of the rights embodied in the copyright or patent short of an assignment of all rights

2 : a defense (as to trespass) that one's act was in accordance with a license granted

3a : freedom that allows or is used with irresponsibility

b : disregard for standards of personal conduct : licentiousness