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permit

Other forms: permitted; permits; permitting

Permit means to allow. When you permit your brother to come into your room, you let him in. (You can always kick him back out if he messes with your stuff.)

To permit means to let someone do something. It comes from the Latin permittere which means "give up, allow to pass through." You might feel like you "gave up" when you permitted your brother to enter your room. As a noun, a permit is a document that lets you do something — like when you get a driver's permit to learn to drive, or a gun permit to carry a gun, or even a construction permit to build an addition to your house.

Definitions of permit
  1. verb
    allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting
    “Children are not permitted beyond this point”
    synonyms: allow, tolerate
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    type of:
    allow, countenance, let
    consent to, give permission
  2. verb
    consent to, give permission
    “She permitted her son to visit her estranged husband”
    synonyms: allow, countenance, let
    allow, grant
    let have
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    Antonyms:
    disallow, forbid, interdict, nix, prohibit, proscribe, veto
    command against
    types:
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    abide, bear, brook, digest, endure, put up, stand, stick out, stomach, suffer, support, tolerate
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    furlough
    grant a leave to
    give
    allow to have or take
    allow, tolerate
    allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting
    authorise, authorize, clear, pass
    grant authorization or clearance for
    admit, include, let in
    allow participation in or the right to be part of; permit to exercise the rights, functions, and responsibilities of
    favor, favour, privilege
    bestow a privilege upon
    decriminalise, decriminalize, legalise, legalize, legitimate, legitimatise, legitimatize, legitimise, legitimize
    make legal
    trust
    allow without fear
    admit, allow in, intromit, let in
    allow to enter; grant entry to
    accept, live with, swallow
    tolerate or accommodate oneself to
    hold still for, stand for
    tolerate or bear
    bear up
    endure cheerfully
    take lying down
    suffer without protest; suffer or endure passively
    take a joke
    listen to a joke at one's own expense
    sit out
    endure to the end
    pay
    bear (a cost or penalty), in recompense for some action
    approbate
    approve or sanction officially
    certificate
    authorize by certificate
    O.K., approve, okay, sanction
    give sanction to
    induct, initiate
    accept people into an exclusive society or group, usually with some rite
    readmit
    admit again or anew
    declare
    authorize payments of
    certify, licence, license
    authorize officially
    commission
    charge with a task
    formalise, formalize, validate
    declare or make legally valid
    monetise, monetize
    give legal value to or establish as the legal tender of a country
    repatriate
    admit back into the country
    readmit
    admit anew
    involve
    engage as a participant
    type of:
    accept, consent, go for
    give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to
  3. verb
    make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
    “This permits the water to rush in”
    “This will permit the rain to run off”
    synonyms: allow, let
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    Antonyms:
    keep, prevent
    stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state
    keep
    hold and prevent from leaving
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    types:
    pass
    allow to go without comment or censure
Definitions of permit
  1. noun
    the act of giving a formal (usually written) authorization
    synonyms: licence, license, permission
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    types:
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    clearance
    permission to proceed
    conge, congee
    formal permission to depart
    allowance
    the act of allowing
    dispensation
    an exemption from some rule or obligation
    toleration
    (religion) official recognition of the right of individuals to hold dissenting opinions
    tolerance
    the act of tolerating something
    variance
    an official dispensation to act contrary to a rule or regulation (typically a building regulation)
    type of:
    authorisation, authorization, empowerment
    the act of conferring legality or sanction or formal warrant
  2. noun
    a legal document giving official permission to do something
    synonyms: licence, license
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    types:
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    building permit
    a document authorizing the holder to construct a building of a particular kind on a particular lot
    driver's licence, driver's license, driving licence, driving license
    a license authorizing the bearer to drive a motor vehicle
    fishing licence, fishing license, fishing permit
    a license authorizing the bearer to fish during a specified period of time
    game license, hunting licence, hunting license, hunting permit
    a license authorizing the bearer to kill a certain type of animal during a specified period of time
    learner's permit
    a document authorizing the bearer to learn to drive an automobile
    letter of mark and reprisal, letter of marque, letters of marque
    a license to a private citizen to seize property of another nation
    liquor licence, liquor license
    a license authorizing the holder to sell alcoholic beverages
    marriage licence, marriage license, wedding licence, wedding license
    a license authorizing two people to marry
    occupation licence, occupation license
    a license to pursue a particular occupation
    liberty chit, pass
    a permit to enter or leave a military installation
    on-license
    a license to sell liquor for consumption on the premises
    type of:
    instrument, legal document, legal instrument, official document
    (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right
  3. noun
    large game fish; found in waters of the West Indies
    synonyms: Trachinotus falcatus
    see moresee less
    type of:
    pompano
    any of several deep-bodied food fishes of western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico
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