To clothe with authority, warrant, or legal power; to give a right to act; to empower; as, to authorize commissioners to settle a boundary.
To make legal; to give legal sanction to; to legalize; as, to authorize a marriage.
To establish by authority, as by usage or public opinion; to sanction; as, idioms authorized by usage.
To sanction or confirm by the authority of some one; to warrant; as, to authorize a report.
To empower; to permit; to establish by authority.
give or delegate power or authority to; "She authorized her assistant to sign the papers"
Official decision to confirm that a transaction may occur. To authorize is to give permission to take an action. The action is then forwarded for processing and approval. Authorization is the precondition to approval, and is part of the initiation of a process. One may authorize without approval, assuming they have the delegated authority. One may NOT approve without authorization. Example: The P.I. authorized the request for supplies and forward to the service center for processing and approval. The P.I. is accountable for ensuring the transaction meets the business objectives and falls within the allowable budget. The Service Center is accountable for ensuring it is processed appropriately.
To give final approval. A person who can authorize something is vested with authority to give final endorsement which requires no further approval [D00114] PMK87
Approve; empower through vested authority.