warrant

[wawr-uh nt, wor-] /ˈwɔr ənt, ˈwɒr-/
noun
1.
authorization, sanction, or justification.
2.
something that serves to give reliable or formal assurance of something; guarantee, pledge, or security.
Synonyms: warranty, surety.
3.
something considered as having the force of a guarantee or as being positive assurance of a thing:
The cavalry and artillery were considered sure warrants of success.
4.
a writing or document certifying or authorizing something, as a receipt, license, or commission.
Synonyms: permit, voucher, writ, order, chit.
5.
Law. an instrument, issued by a magistrate, authorizing an officer to make an arrest, seize property, make a search, or carry a judgment into execution.
6.
the certificate of authority or appointment issued to an officer of the armed forces below the rank of a commissioned officer.
7.
a warehouse receipt.
8.
a written authorization for the payment or receipt of money:
a treasury warrant.
verb (used with object)
9.
to give authority to; authorize.
10.
to give reason or sanction for; account for:
The circumstances warrant such measures.
Synonyms: justify, uphold, support, validate, vindicate.
11.
to give one's word for; vouch for (often used with a clause to emphasize something asserted):
I'll warrant he did!
Synonyms: guarantee, attest, swear.
12.
to give a formal assurance, or a guarantee or promise, to or for; guarantee:
to warrant someone honorable treatment; to warrant payment; to warrant safe delivery.
13.
to guarantee the quantity, quality, and other representations of (an article, product, etc.), as to a purchaser.
14.
to guarantee or secure title to (the purchaser of goods); assure indemnification against loss to.
15.
Law. to guarantee title of an estate or other granted property (to a grantee).
Origin
1175-1225; (noun) Middle English warant < Anglo-French; Old French guarant < Germanic; compare Middle Low German warend, -ent warranty, noun use of present participle of waren to warrant; (v.) Middle English < Anglo-French warantir; Old French g(u)arantir, derivative of guarant; see guaranty
Related forms
warrantless, adjective
nonwarranted, adjective
prewarrant, noun, verb (used with object)
quasi-warranted, adjective
rewarrant, verb (used with object)
self-warranting, adjective
unwarranted, adjective
unwarrantedly, adverb
well-warranted, adjective
Examples from the web for warrant
  • Inspectors returned twice, each time without a warrant, and each time appellant refused to permit entry.
  • All ideas warrant testing.
  • You do not have to let the officer into the house unless he has a search warrant.
  • This doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen enought to warrant mentioning.
  • All nuclear materials warrant commensurate safeguards.
  • After the crime, four law enforcement officers called at his grandmother's house, announcing that they had a search warrant.
  • We can bear, I warrant you.
  • The judges' new arrest warrant came as a vindication for the prosecution
  • I'm also angry because I didn't do anything to warrant this.
  • Unproven theories do not warrant the extreme government action being proposed.
British Dictionary definitions for warrant

warrant

/ˈwɒrənt/
noun
1.
anything that gives authority for an action or decision; authorization; sanction
2.
a document that certifies or guarantees, such as a receipt for goods stored in a warehouse, a licence, or a commission
3.
(law) an authorization issued by a magistrate or other official allowing a constable or other officer to search or seize property, arrest a person, or perform some other specified act
4.
(in certain armed services) the official authority for the appointment of warrant officers
5.
a security that functions as a stock option by giving the owner the right to buy ordinary shares in a company at a specified date, often at a specified price
verb (transitive)
6.
to guarantee the quality, condition, etc, of (something)
7.
to give authority or power to
8.
to attest to or assure the character, worthiness, etc, of
9.
to guarantee (a purchaser of merchandise) against loss of, damage to, or misrepresentation concerning the merchandise
10.
(law) to guarantee (the title to an estate or other property)
11.
to declare boldly and confidently
Derived Forms
warrantable, adjective
warrantability, noun
warrantably, adverb
warranter, noun
warrantless, adjective
Word Origin
C13: from Anglo-French warrant, variant of Old French guarant, from guarantir to guarantee, of Germanic origin; compare guaranty
Word Origin and History for warrant
n.

early 13c., "protector, defender," from Old North French warant (Old French garant), from Frankish *warand (cf. Old High German weren "to authorize, warrant," German gewähren "to grant"), from Proto-Germanic *war- "to warn, guard, protect," perhaps from PIE root *wer- "to cover" (cf. Latin vereri "to observe with awe, revere, respect, fear;" Greek ouros "watchman," horan "to see;" Hittite werite- "to see;" see weir).

Sense evolved via notion of "permission from a superior which protects one from blame or responsibility" (c.1300) to "document conveying authority" (1510s). A warrant officer in the military is one who holds office by warrant, rather than by commission.

v.

late 13c., "to keep safe from danger," from Old North French warantir (Old French garantir), from warant (see warrant (n.)).

Meaning "to guarantee to be of quality" is attested from late 14c.; sense of "to guarantee as true" is recorded from c.1300. Related: Warranted; warranting.

Idioms and Phrases with warrant

warrant

see: sign one's own death warrant