Official Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of official ; 1 · of or relating to an office, position, or trust ; 2 · holding an office : having authority the president's ; 4 · befitting or ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut official noun SaveWord of·​fi·​cial |\ə-ˈfi-shəl ,ō-\ Definitionofofficial (Entry1of2) 1 :onewhoholdsorisinvested(seeinvestentry2sense1)withanoffice:officer governmentofficialsAcompanyofficialrespondedtoourrequest. 2 :onewhoadministerstherulesofagameorsportespeciallyasarefereeorumpire afootballofficial official adjective Definitionofofficial (Entry2of2) 1 :oforrelatingtoanoffice,position,ortrust officialdutiesofficialdocuments 2 :holdinganoffice:havingauthority thepresident'sofficialrepresentative 3a :authoritative,authorized officialstatementanofficialbiography b :prescribedorrecognizedasauthorized anofficiallanguage c :describedbytheU.S.PharmacopeiaortheNationalFormulary Theofficialdrugissoldunderseveraltradenames. 4 :befittingorcharacteristicofapersoninoffice extendedanofficialgreetingofficialcondolences OtherWordsfromofficial Synonyms&Antonyms MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutofficial OtherWordsfromofficial Adjective officially \ ə-​ˈfi-​sh(ə-​)lē ,ō-​ \ adverb Synonyms&Antonymsforofficial Synonyms:Noun functionary, officeholder, officer, publicservant Synonyms:Adjective authorized, sanctioned Antonyms:Adjective nonofficial, unauthorized, unofficial, unsanctioned VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofofficialinaSentence Noun Sheinterviewedaseniorofficialfromthepreviousadministration. Acompanyofficialrespondedtoourrequest. Adjective Shewasaccusedofdestroyingofficialdocuments. Herillnessdidnotpreventherfromperformingherofficialduties. TheVicePresidentisonanofficialtrip. Weextendedanofficialgreetingtotheambassador. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun InNovember,threepeopleaccusedofpeoplesmugglingwereheldonstagewhileanofficialreadouttheirpunishmentstoanaudienceofhundreds,includingprimaryschoolstudents,accordingtoareportontheJingxigovernmentwebsite. — NectarGanAndCnn'sBeijingBureau,CNN,30Dec.2021 Thepassengersontheboatweremostlywomenandchildren,anIndonesianofficialsaid. — NBCNews,30Dec.2021 InNovember,anNLRBofficialruledthatAmazon’sinstallationofamailcollectionboxoutsideitsBessemerfacilityduringthevotecouldhavemadeemployeesbelieveAmazonplayedaroleincollectingandcountingballots. — SebastianHerrera,WSJ,29Dec.2021 Undernocircumstanceisaplayerallowedtoshove,push,orstrikeanofficialinanoffensive,disrespectful,orunsportsmanlikemanner. — TheIndianapolisStar,27Dec.2021 SeniorDefenseleaderssharedthoseconcerns,saidDr.AnnaJohnson-Winegar,thenanArmybiodefenseofficial. — NewYorkTimes,23Dec.2021 Undernocircumstanceisaplayerallowedtoshove,push,orstrikeanofficialinanoffensive,disrespectful,orunsportsmanlikemanner. — JoelA.Erickson,USATODAY,20Dec.2021 MikeCullyhasledtheorganizationforthepastfouryearsworkingasaneconomicdevelopmentofficialinSanDiegoandasamanageratcar-sharingcompanycar2go. — MikeRogoway|TheOregonian/oregonlive,oregonlive,19Dec.2021 FormerGullJordanSamuels-Thomas,whospenttwoseasonswiththeclubaspartofanine-yearprofessionalcareer,workedthegameasanofficial. — IvanCarter,SanDiegoUnion-Tribune,17Dec.2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Adjective OnNewYear’sEve,theofficialInstagramaccountfortheDukeandDuchessofCambridge(@dukeandduchessofcambridge)sharedthephoto,whichwastakentheeveningoftheNoTimetoDiefilmpremiereinLondonbackinSeptember. — CarrieWittmer,Glamour,3Jan.2022 BritneyisstillfollowingstarslikeoldfriendParisHilton,collaboratorsTinasheandIggyAzaleaandtheofficialaccountforsandwichchainSchlotzsky's. — CarliePorterfield,Forbes,2Jan.2022 Herofficialcongressionalaccount,@RepMTG,wasstillactiveSundaymorning. — JessicaFlores,SanFranciscoChronicle,2Jan.2022 The27-year-oldPuertoRicantrapstarrecentlydeletedallofthepostsfromhisofficialInstagramaccount,whichboasts36.8millionfollowers,includingfellowartistslikeDrake,Rihanna,JenniferLopezandLilNasX. — MitchellPeters,Billboard,2Jan.2022 ButtheNewYear’sDaydealappearstonotbetakingplacein2022,accordingtoatweetfromtheDillard’sofficialTwitteraccount. — al,31Dec.2021 TheTelevisionAcademyrememberedthefive-timeEmmywinnerontheorganization'sofficialTwitteraccount. — MarianneGarvey,CNN,31Dec.2021 InlateNovember,theshow'sofficialTwitteraccountunveiledabriefteaserforthenewseason,alongwiththenewsthattheshowwillbehittingtheairwavesintheUKinearly2022. — LaurenHubbard,Town&Country,28Dec.2021 Theorganization’sFacebookpagewasalsotakendowninthewakeoftheshooting,aswastheofficialTwitteraccountoftheNorthHollywoodpolicestation. — KevinRector,LosAngelesTimes,29Dec.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'official.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofofficial Noun 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1Adjective circa1585,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforofficial Noun MiddleEnglish,"personpresidingoveranecclesiasticalcourt,domesticretainer,"borrowedfromAnglo-French&MedievalLatin;Anglo-French,borrowedfromMedievalLatinofficiālis"personperformingthedutiesofanoffice,headofanecclesiasticalcourt,"goingbacktoLatin,"attendantonamagistrate,"derivativeofofficiālis"pertainingtofixedduties"—moreatofficialentry2 Adjective MiddleEnglish,"functional(ofapartofthebody),"borrowedfromMedievalLatinofficiālis"functional,pertainingtodutiesofanoffice,"goingbacktoLatin,"pertainingtofixedduties,"fromofficium"duty,office"+-ālis-alentry1 LearnMoreAboutofficial Shareofficial PosttheDefinitionofofficialtoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofofficialonTwitter TimeTravelerforofficial Thefirstknownuseofofficialwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster 'Officious'vs.'Official' 'Officious'vs.'Official' Plus,alimericktohelpyoudistinguishbetweenthesetwocommonlyconfusedwords DictionaryEntriesNearofficial officeseeker official officialatbat SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforofficial LastUpdated 4Jan2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Official.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/official.Accessed8Jan.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforofficial official noun EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofofficial (Entry1of2) :apersonwhohasapositionofauthorityinacompany,organization,orgovernment:apersonwhoholdsanoffice :aperson(suchasarefereeorumpire)whomakessurethatplayersarefollowingtherulesofagame official adjective EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofofficial (Entry2of2) :oforrelatingtothejoborworkofsomeoneinapositionofauthority —usedtodescribesomethingthatissaidinapublicwaybysomeoneinapositionofauthority —usedtodescribesomethingthatisdoneinapublicandoftenformalway SeethefulldefinitionforofficialintheEnglishLanguageLearnersDictionary official noun of·​fi·​cial |\ə-ˈfi-shəl \ KidsDefinitionofofficial (Entry1of2) :apersonwhoholdsapositionofauthorityinanorganizationorgovernment official adjective KidsDefinitionofofficial (Entry2of2) 1 :relatingtoapositionofauthority officialduties 2 :havingauthoritytoperformaduty theofficialreferee 3 :comingfromormeetingtherequirementsofanauthority anofficialteambaseball We'rewaitingfortheofficialannouncement. 4 :properforapersoninoffice TheWhiteHouseisthePresident'sofficialresidence. OtherWordsfromofficial officially adverb official adjective of·​fi·​cial |\ə-ˈfish-əl \ Medical Definitionofofficial :prescribedorrecognizedasauthorized specifically :describedbytheUnitedStatesPharmacopeiaortheNationalFormulary—comparenonofficial,unofficial OtherWordsfromofficial officially \ -​ˈfish-​(ə-​)lē \ adverb official noun of·​fi·​cial Legal Definitionofofficial (Entry1of2) :onewhoholdsorisinvestedwithanofficeespeciallyingovernment amunicipalofficial official adjective Legal Definitionofofficial (Entry2of2) 1 :of,relatingto,orholdinganoffice,position,ortrust officialduties 2 :fullyauthorized anofficialpolicyofthebank OtherWordsfromofficial officially adverb MorefromMerriam-Websteronofficial Nglish:TranslationofofficialforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofofficialforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutofficial WORDOFTHEDAY layman SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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