{
    "term": "licence",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "academic": true,
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "an official document that shows that permission has been given to do, own or use something",
            "sensetop": "licence for somethinglicence to do somethingwithout a licence",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The driver did not **hold a** valid **licence**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "to **get/obtain/have a licence**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "to **grant/issue a licence**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "James lost his licence for six months *(= had his licence taken away by the police as a punishment)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her **licence was revoked** by the court."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a licence for the software",
                    "contextForm": "licence for something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "You need a licence to fish in this river.",
                    "contextForm": "licence to do something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was caught driving a car without a licence.",
                    "contextForm": "without a licence"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Is there a **licence fee**?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **licence holder** *(= a person who has been given a licence)*"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **licence agreement**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He's had his licence taken away."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She gained her private pilot's licence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The software comes with a single-user licence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The club was refused a music licence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The company has won the licence to run trains from the south coast to London."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The government is currently granting no operating licences to foreign companies."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The licence expires at the end of the year."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The weapons were exported under a special export licence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "You have to have a licence to sell these fireworks."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a licence for software manufacture"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a licence from the Performing Rights Society"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He did not have a gun licence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The premises did not have an entertainment licence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Who holds the licence for these premises?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Your local authority should be able to issue you with a licence."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["valid", "full", "special"],
                "verb + licence/​license": ["have", "hold", "buy"],
                "licence/​license + verb": ["expire", "run out"],
                "licence/​license + noun": ["fee", "holder", "number"],
                "preposition": [
                    "in a/​the licence",
                    "under a/​the licence",
                    "under licence"
                ],
                "phrases": ["the holder of a licence"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "freedom to do or say whatever you want, often something bad or unacceptable",
            "sensetop": "licence (to do something)",
            "labels": "(formal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Lack of punishment seems to give youngsters licence to break the law."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "freedom to behave in a way that is not considered sexually moral",
            "labels": "(formal)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "the freedom of artists or writers to change facts in order to make a story, painting, etc. more interesting or beautiful",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Literature and writing"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to describe a business that makes a lot of money with little effort",
            "labels": "(disapproving)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "made with the permission of a company or an organization",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "They are Italian trains, but they will be built in Britain under licence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The vaccine is manufactured under licence locally."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈlaɪsns/",
                "audio": "li/licence/licence__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈlaɪsns/",
                "audio": "li/licence/licence__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English: via Old French from Latin licentia ‘freedom, sexually immoral behaviour’ (in medieval Latin ‘authority, permission’), from licere ‘be lawful or permitted’."
}