authorities
uh-THAW-ruh-teez/əˈθɔɹətiz/UKaw-THO-ruh-teez/ɔːˈθɒɹətiz/
- 1The people or groups in charge of a place or a public service, like the police or the government.
Like the people who run a school and decide the rules everyone follows.
Local authorities approved the plans for the new park.
Town authorities set the rules for how shops can open and trade.
UsageSay the authorities or local authorities, and the authorities have, are.
Note
- 2Plural of authority. Use this form when talking about more than one authority.
The two authorities disagreed about the new policy.
Both of these doctors are authorities on heart disease.
UsageSay experts are authorities on a subject. For power, say authority.
Note
authorities is a form of authority
authority, noun: The people in charge of keeping order, like the police or other officials. Full entry
- Forms
- authorityauthorities plural
- Spelling
- authority → authorities: change y to i, add -es
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /z/.
Use it in a sentence
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