ENGLISH
REFERENCE

visa

n. · v.
US //ˈvizə// UK //vˈiːzɐ// visa
  1. 1 travel permit (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    an official mark or document in your passport that lets you enter, stay in, or leave a country.

    an endorsement on a passport indicating that the holder is allowed to enter, leave, or stay for a specified period of time in a country.

    Example

    She had to visit the embassy to apply for a tourist visa before her trip.

    Example

    The immigration officer carefully inspected the work visa to ensure the applicant had not exceeded the permitted duration of stay.

    Usage

    Often used with the verbs 'apply for', 'grant', or 'issue'.
  2. 2 credit card (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    a type of credit card or the company that provides the payment system.

    a proprietary name for a global electronic payments network and the credit or debit cards issued under its brand.

    Example

    The shop accepts all major credit cards, including Visa and Mastercard.

    Example

    The merchant requested an alternative form of payment after the customer's Visa was declined by the processing system.
  3. 3 to endorse a document (v.)
    C1 Advanced Formal Archaic

    to officially check and mark a passport or document.

    to endorse a passport or similar document with a formal permit. This transitive use is increasingly rare in modern administrative contexts.

    Example

    The official will visa your papers once the fee has been paid.

    Example

    In the early twentieth century, it was common for local consulates to visa travel documents manually before a long sea voyage.
Origin

From 1831, "official signature or endorsement on a passport," from French visa, from Latin charta vīsa (“paper that has been seen”) from feminine perfect passive of Latin vidēre (“to see”). Compare vision, video, vista.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related words

Last updated June 19, 2026