license

1 of 2

noun

li·​cense ˈlī-sᵊn(t)s How to pronounce license (audio)
variants or licence
1
a
: permission to act
b
: freedom of action
2
a
: 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
3
a
: 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

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly licence
licensed also licenced; licensing also licencing

transitive verb

1
a
: to issue a license to
b
: to permit or authorize especially by formal license
2
: to give permission or consent to : allow
licensable adjective
licensor
ˈlī-sᵊn(t)-sər How to pronounce license (audio)
ˌli-sᵊn-ˈsȯr
noun
or less commonly licenser

Did you know?

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").

Choose the Right Synonym for license

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

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
Another person who has a marijuana license registered at the same location was involved in a violent dispute in 2021 that ended in an assailant shooting at her with a pistol, court documents say. Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 22 Mar. 2024 The Northern California group will have to be granted a license, which means any major hiccups to get the track ready could derail the effort. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024 Place a hold on your ability to renew your driver license until the legal issues are resolved. Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Mar. 2024 If a member of the public searches for Heritage Village in the state’s search tool, only the 56 citations associated with the facility’s new license show up under regular settings. Sahana Jayaraman, The Arizona Republic, 21 Mar. 2024 The lawsuit was filed in 2019 in the the Supreme Court of Australia’s Victoria state on behalf of over 8,000 car service owners and drivers who allegedly lost income and saw their license values decrease when the ride-sharing app entered the market. Bruce Gil, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024 But before farmers can trade the tobacco crop for a medical marijuana plot, the state must issue licenses to all business players who plan to enter the industry. Olivia Evans, The Courier-Journal, 18 Mar. 2024 It’s been serving online casino games since 1998, has a license issued by the Malta Gaming Authority, and is accredited by eCORGA for fairness. Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 On both coasts, candidates for licenses have faced far too much red tape; at the same time, the legalization of weed, which added taxes and jacked up the price per ounce, gave a shot in the arm to the illicit economy, which offers lower prices. The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
Verb
It is also licensed and insured under NABCEP, National Center for Construction Education and Research, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Maria Williams, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024 The company also is hoping to bring in more money by licensing access to its content in deals similar to the $60 million that Google recently struck to help train its artificial intelligence models. Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024 Among Reddit’s plans to better monetize those users is licensing their data to help train AI models. Clare Duffy, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024 After a decades-long probate process, they were eventually inherited by Strasberg’s third wife, Anna, who licensed the actress’s image liberally and enlisted Christie’s to sell the possessions. Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 Authentic licensed the title to the Arena Group, a media company then led by veteran executive Ross Levinsohn, who had a brief and controversial stint as publisher of the Los Angeles Times. Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Apple licensed its design elements to Microsoft for Windows version 1, and Apple got the rights to use some Microsoft products. Laura Bratton, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024 Reddit even licensed its name to RIF for a few years, for a fee. Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024 The center is licensed to treat mental health issues, too, such as anxiety and depression. Jessica Van Egeren, Journal Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'license.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French licence, from Latin licentia, from licent-, licens, present participle of licēre to be permitted

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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

Dictionary Entries Near license

Cite this Entry

“License.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/license. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

license

1 of 2 noun
li·​cense
variants or licence
1
a
: permission granted by qualified authority to do something
b
: a document, plate, or tag showing that such permission has been granted
2
: liberty of action that is carried too far

license

2 of 2 verb
variants also licence
licensed also licenced; licensing also licencing
: to permit or authorize by license
licensable adjective

Medical Definition

license

noun
li·​cense
variants or chiefly British licence
: a permission granted by competent authority to engage in a business or occupation or in an activity otherwise unlawful
a license to practice medicine
license transitive verb
or chiefly British licence
licensed or chiefly British licenced; licensing or chiefly British licencing

Legal Definition

license

1 of 2 noun
li·​cense
ˈlīs-ᵊns
1
a
: 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
3
a
: freedom that allows or is used with irresponsibility
b
: disregard for standards of personal conduct : licentiousness

license

2 of 2 transitive verb
licensed; licensing
1
: to issue a license to
2
: to permit or authorize by a license
Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French, literally, permission, from Old French, from Latin licentia, from licent- licens, present participle of licēre to be permitted, be for sale

More from Merriam-Webster on license

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