authority · ​. [uncountable] the power to give orders to people · ​. [uncountable] the power or right to do something · ​. [uncountable] official permission to ... Unitary authority · Tennessee Valley Authority · The Financial Services Authority

1[uncountable] the power to give orders to people in a position of authority She now has authority over the people who used to be her bosses.

Legitimate power, decision-making capacity, and the means to cause others to obey. The word applies both to the abstract quality and to the individual or ...

There are ten meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun authority. See 'Meaning & use' for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

AUTHORITY definition: 1. the moral or legal right or ability to control: 2. a group of people with official…. Learn more.

Oxford Collocations DictionaryLocal authority is used before these nouns: grant; housing. See full entry.

The power or right to persuade individuals or groups to obey precepts or recommendations. In the State, the coercive power of the government can ensure ...

AUTHORITY definition: 1. the official power to make decisions or to control other people: 2. an official group or…. Learn more.

The earliest known use of the noun authority figure is in the 1940s. OED's earliest evidence for authority figure is from 1948, in Public Opinion Quarterly.

the former name for a department of local government in Britain that is in charge of the state schools and colleges in its area