WordWeb Online

1. (law) a legal document giving official permission to do something
   - licence [Brit, Cdn], permit
    
2. Freedom to deviate deliberately from normally applicable rules or practices (especially in behaviour or speech)
   - licence [Brit, Cdn]
    
3. Excessive freedom; lack of due restraint
   "when liberty becomes license dictatorship is near"; "the intolerable license with which the newspapers break...the rules of decorum";
   - licence [Brit, Cdn]
    
4. The act of giving a formal (usually written) authorization
   - permission, permit, licence [Brit, Cdn]

1. Authorize officially
   "I am licensed to practice law in this state";
   - licence [Brit, Cdn], certify

Derived forms: licenses, licensing, licensed

Type of: authorisation [Brit], authorise [Brit], authorization, authorize, clear, empowerment, instrument, legal document, legal instrument, liberty, official document, pass

Encyclopedia: License