(1):

(v. t.) To make legal; to give legal sanction to; to legalize; as, to authorize a marriage.

(2):

(v. t.) To establish by authority, as by usage or public opinion; to sanction; as, idioms authorized by usage.

(3):

(v. t.) To sanction or confirm by the authority of some one; to warrant; as, to authorize a report.

(4):

(v. t.) To clothe with authority, warrant, or legal power; to give a right to act; to empower; as, to authorize commissioners to settle a boundary.

(5):

(v. t.) To justify; to furnish a ground for.