# authority

Pronunciation: US say "uh-THAW-ruh-tee" /əˈθɔɹəti/; UK say "aw-THO-ruh-tee" /ɔːˈθɒɹəti/

## Noun

1. People in official positions of power, considered together, especially the police and other law enforcement.
   - Simple: The people in charge of keeping order, like the police or other officials.
   - _Anyone who witnesses the crime should contact the appropriate authority without delay._
   - _The authorities launched an investigation into the missing funds._
2. The power or right to give orders, make decisions, enforce rules, or act on behalf of another person or organization.
   - Simple: The power or permission to make decisions, give orders, enforce rules, or act for someone else.
   - _The committee lacks the authority to overturn a court ruling._
   - _Parents exercise authority over their young children's daily routines._
3. Recognized standing as a trustworthy expert, or the reputation a person claims for mastery of a subject.
   - Simple: Being known and trusted as an expert on a subject.
   - _Her authority on the subject was rarely questioned by colleagues._
   - _The professor wrote with the authority of decades of fieldwork._
4. A reliable, definitive source of information or expertise on a particular subject.
   - Simple: A person or book you can trust to give correct facts about a subject.
   - _He became a recognized authority on medieval manuscripts._
   - _The journal is widely regarded as an authority in climate research._
5. A public body set up by government to run a particular service or administer a particular area of public life, such as transport, housing, or water.
   - Simple: A public agency set up by the government to run a service, like water or transport.
   - _The port authority approved funding for a new terminal._
   - _Several housing authorities reported budget shortfalls this year._

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English auctorite, meaning authority or a quotation that settles an argument, borrowed from Old French auctorité and ultimately from Latin auctōritās ("advice, opinion, influence, command"), from auctor ("master, leader, author").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/authority (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).