authority
n. C / Un. the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce rules. It can also refer to a person or group with this power, like the police or a government.
n. the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience; also refers to an official organization with administrative power in a particular field.
The manager has the authority to hire new staff.
Local authorities decided to close the park for maintenance after several residents reported safety concerns.
While the professor is a leading authority on medieval history, he often defers to younger colleagues when discussing the digital preservation of ancient manuscripts.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂weg- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der. Proto-Italic *augeō Latin augeō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin auctor Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin auctōritāsbor. Old French autoritébor. Middle English auctorite English authority From Middle English auctorite, autorite (“authority, book or quotation that settles an argument”), from Old French auctorité, from Latin stem of auctōritās (“invention, advice, opinion, influence, command”), from auctor (“master, leader, author”). For the presence of the h, compare the etymology of author.
Uncountable when referring to the abstract power or right; countable when referring to an organization or an expert person.
The authorities is investigating the crime.The authorities are investigating the crime.When referring to the police or government officials, 'authorities' is plural and requires a plural verb.