authority

  1. Noun.  (uncountable) The power to enforce rules or give orders.
  2. Noun.  (context, used in singular or plural form) Persons in command; specifically, government.
  3. Noun.  (countable) A person accepted as a source of reliable information on a subject.

This is an unmodified, but possibly outdated, definition from Wiktionary and used here under the Creative Commons license. Wiktionary is a great resource. If you like it too, please donate to Wikimedia.

This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.