# mandatory

Pronunciation: US say "MAN-duh-tor-ee" /ˈmæn.dəˌt(ɔ)ɹi/; UK say "MAN-duh-tuh-ree" /ˈmæn.də.t(ə)ɹi/

## Adjective

1. Required or commanded by an authority; obligatory rather than a matter of choice.
   - Simple: Required by a rule, a law, or by someone in charge, not a matter of choice.
   - _Attendance at the safety briefing is mandatory for all new employees._
   - _The judge handed down a mandatory minimum sentence under the statute._
2. Of, being, or relating to a mandate, especially a territory governed under authority granted to a state by an international body.
   - Simple: Relating to a mandate, which is the power to govern an area given to a country by an official group.
   - _The mandatory authority was obliged to administer the region for the benefit of its inhabitants._
   - _France exercised mandatory control over the area following the partition._

## Noun

3. In disc golf, a sign or line marking a point that the disc's flight must pass on a specified side, above, or below.
   - Simple: In disc golf, a marker that forces your throw to pass a certain spot on a set side, above, or below it.
   - _Course designers placed a mandatory near the pond to steer throws away from the water._
   - _He clipped a branch trying to round the mandatory on the final hole._

## Noun

4. A person, organization, or state to which a mandate has been given; a mandatary. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A person, group, or country that has been given a mandate to act or to govern on another's behalf.
   - _The treaty designated the victorious power as the mandatory for the territory._
   - _The newly appointed mandatory assumed responsibility for the region's administration._

## Origin

From Late Latin mandatorius ('of or belonging to a mandator'), from mandātor ('one who commands'); it is equivalent to mandate plus the suffix -ory.

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