authority

1. (uncountable) Power or right to make or enforce rules, give orders, or impose obligation; or a position having such power or right.Examples: "I have the authority to penalise the staff in my department, but not the authority to sack them."; "Vigilantes may have the power to nab criminals, but they lack the authority."; "She lost all respect and authority after turning up drunk at the meeting."Synonyms: command, rulership, sovereigntyuncountable

2. (plural) Persons, regarded collectively, who occupy official positions of power; police or law enforcement.Examples: "Authorities say the suspect fled on foot."; "The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff."; "No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again."countablepluraluncountable

3. (countable) A reliable, definitive source of information on a subject.Examples: "the world's foremost authority on orangutans"; "My cheap dictionary is not the authority on word derivations."; "To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself."countable

4. (uncountable) Status as a trustworthy source of information, reputation for mastery or expertise; or claim to such status or reputation.Examples: "Due to being inadequate for the deductive method of reasoning, the argument from authority is considered a logical fallacy."Synonyms: gravitas, creduncountable

5. (uncountable) Official permission; authorisation to act in some capacity on behalf of a ruling entity.Examples: "Authority to construct eight carriages, to test the new design in public service, had already been given; but of course complete working drawings had first to be prepared."uncountable

6. (countable) A government-owned agency that runs a revenue-generating activity for public benefit.Examples: "New York Port Authority"; "Chicago Transit Authority"countable