Meaning of official in English

official

adjective

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/əˈfɪʃ.əl/ us

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/əˈfɪʃ.əl/

relating to a position of responsibility:

He visited China in his official capacity as America's trade representative.

Number Ten Downing Street is the British prime minister's official residence.

Opposite

unofficial

agreed to or arranged by people in positions of authority:

the official photos of the president's tour of India

The Queen will attend the official opening of the theatre in June.

There is to be an official inquiry into the incident.

If a piece of information is official, it has been announced publicly with authority:

Their engagement is now official.

Inflation has fallen below two percent, and that's official.

More examples

Before buying a pram, make sure that it conforms to the official safety standards.
The president's official visit marks the start of a more fraternal relationship between the two countries.
The rebels regard the official parliament as illegitimate.
Several eyewitnesses' accounts differed considerably from the official version of events.
The remit of this official inquiry is to investigate the reasons for the accident.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Organizations - position & status

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Announcing, informing & stating

official

noun [ C ]

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/əˈfɪʃ.əl/ us

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/əˈfɪʃ.əl/

a person who has a position of responsibility in an organization:

a government/trade-union/council official

Synonym

functionary formal

More examples

The whole system was corrupt - every official she approached wanted money before helping her.
An official from the Department of Health will be inspecting the restaurant this afternoon.
The customs official beckoned the woman to his counter.
The information was given by a Vatican official.
Senior government officials will be attending a meeting tomorrow.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

People in charge of or controlling other people

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(Definition of official from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

official | American Dictionary

official

noun [ C ]

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/əˈfɪʃ·əl/

a person who has a position of responsibility in an organization:

a senior official

official

adjective

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/əˈfɪʃ·əl/

connected with or arranged by someone in a position of responsibility:

an official announcement

officially

adverb us

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/əˈfɪʃ·ə·li/

The name of the new director will be officially announced in June.

(Definition of official from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

official | Business English

official

adjective

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/əˈfɪʃəl/ us

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agreed to or arranged by people in positions of authority:

The trust is expected to receive official permission to sell its shares.

We obtained official documents that were necessary to start the work.

An official inquiry is currently investigating some of the most serious allegations.

used to describe something that has been announced publicly by someone in a position of authority:

So far, there has been no official announcement from the company.

related to your work rather than your personal life:

He was acting in his official capacity.

Even on official business they still find time for a little tourism.

I accompanied the minister on his official visit to Prague.

relating to a position of responsibility:

They chose him as their official representative in the talks with the management.

official

noun [ C ]

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/əˈfɪʃəl/ us

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a person who has a position of responsibility in an organization:

a trade union/government official

(Definition of official from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of official

official

Local fire officials should be notified of any potentially hazardous conditions.

From Cambridge English Corpus

If the nongovernment audit organization is to make the distribution, the engagement agreement should indicate which officials or organizations should receive the report.

From Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from the Cambridge English Corpus and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

More examples Fewer examples

Agency officials who have oversight of the issues related to the engagement's objectives are also expected to attend the meeting.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Auditors may find it useful to obtain written representations concerning the competence of certain evidence from officials of the audited entity.

From Cambridge English Corpus

If officials of the audited organization do not have such a process, auditors may wish to establish their own process.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Above all, provided the necessary officials were squared, no questions would be asked.

From Cambridge English Corpus

We identified the examples described in this report through our interviews with senior executives and other agency officials.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Because we were seeking to review initiatives that had successfully empowered and involved employees, we asked headquarters officials to identify organizational components for our review.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Many officials of the latter had, in fact, left the city for the supposed safety of their villas along with other well-to-do citizens.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Beyond that, no federal officials and only a few citizens were prepared to go.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Once established, the new hermitage soon received help from the king and his officials.

From Cambridge English Corpus

The" police" role of the union is performed by its full-time officials.

From Cambridge English Corpus

However, lifetime probability estimates of cancer may provide a guide to individuals and health policy officials as to the burden of these select cancers.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Working-level officials in the intelligence community knew little more than this.

From Cambridge English Corpus

Because the amount of reporting is so voluminous, only a select fraction can be chosen for briefing the president and senior officials.

From Cambridge English Corpus

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