ENGLISH
REFERENCE

licensing

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈɫaɪsənsɪŋ// UK //lˈaɪsənsɪŋ// li·cens·ing

v. to give official permission to a person or company to do, own, or use something. You usually need this for things like driving a car or selling a product.

v. granting an official permit or legal right to perform a specific action or use a particular asset. Transitive — requires a direct object representing the entity or activity being permitted.


SIMPLE

The city is licensing new taxi drivers this month.

CONTEXTUAL

The pharmaceutical company is licensing its new drug formula to international manufacturers to speed up global production.

COMPLEX

By licensing the software to third-party developers, the firm successfully expanded its ecosystem while maintaining control over the core intellectual property through strict contractual obligations.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object. Often used in the present participle form as a gerund or adjective.

Pitfall

The government is licensing to the companyThe government is licensing the companyLicensing is a transitive verb and does not require the preposition 'to' before the object receiving the permit.

© 2026 English Reference