unlicensed

adjective

un·​li·​censed ˌən-ˈlī-sᵊn(t)st 

: not licensed: such as

a

: not authorized or permitted by a license

unlicensed merchandise

an unlicensed firearm

the unlicensed reproduction of books

b

: operating without a license

unlicensed vendors

an unlicensed electrician

unlicensed brokers

unlicensed drivers

Examples of unlicensed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Its living room rapidly reached the swelter and volume of a blacksmith’s forge operating as a front for an unlicensed tavern. —Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025

According to The Trevor Project’s 2023 report, more than 1,300 practitioners in 48 states and the District of Columbia continue to offer licensed or unlicensed forms of conversion therapy to minors. —Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez, Time, 8 Oct. 2025

Valdosta Police Department Detectives and Crime Scene personnel soon determined that Stacy Wheeler Cobb, 48, was running an allegedly unlicensed daycare at her home, per the police news release. —Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025

Earlier that day, a woman dropped the toddler off with Stacy Wheeler Cobb, 48, who was operating an unlicensed day care center at her residence, police said. —Kate Reilly, NBC news, 6 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unlicensed

• licenced
• licensed

Medical Definition

unlicensed

adjective

un·​li·​censed

variants or chiefly British unlicenced

-ˈlīs-ᵊn(t)st

: not licensed

especially, of a drug : not approved for use by the appropriate regulating authority (as the Food and Drug Administration in the United States)