2 → see also civil liberties
3 N‑UNCOUNT [oft at N ] Liberty is the freedom to go wherever you want, which you lose when you are a prisoner. □ Drug addicts need help, not loss of liberty.
4 PHRASE If someone is at liberty to do something, they have been given permission to do it. □ The island's in the Pacific Ocean; I'm not at liberty to say exactly where, because we're still negotiating for its purchase.
5 PHRASE If you say that you have taken the liberty of doing something, you are saying that you have done it without asking permission. People say this when they do not think that anyone will mind what they have done. [POLITENESS ] □ I took the liberty of going into Assunta's wardrobe, as it was open; I was looking for a towel.
6 PHRASE If you take liberties or take a liberty with someone or something, you act in a way that is too free and does not show enough respect. □ [+ with ] Try to make your writing exciting, without taking liberties with the truth. □ She knew she was taking a big liberty in developing Mick's photos without his knowledge. SYNONYMS liberty NOUN 1
freedom: They want greater political freedom.
emancipation: They fought for the emancipation of women.
independence: In 1816, Argentina declared its independence from Spain.
li|bidi|nous /l I b I d I nəs/ ADJ People who are libidinous have strong sexual feelings and express them in their behaviour. [LITERARY ] □ Powell let his libidinous imagination run away with him.
li|bi|do /l I biː doʊ/ (libidos ) N‑VAR A person's libido is the part of their personality that is considered to cause their emotional, especially sexual, desires. □ Lack of sleep is a major factor in loss of libido.
Li|bra /liː brə/ (Libras )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Libra is one of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Its symbol is a pair of scales. People who are born approximately between the 23rd of September and the 22nd of October come under this sign.
2 N‑COUNT A Libra is a person whose sign of the zodiac is Libra.
li|brar|ian /la I breə riən/ (librarians ) N‑COUNT A librarian is a person who is in charge of a library or who has been specially trained to work in a library.
li|brary ◆◇◇ /la I brəri, [AM ] -breri/ (libraries )
1 N‑COUNT A public library is a building where things such as books, newspapers, videos, and music are kept for people to read, use, or borrow. □ …the local library. □ She issued them library cards.
2 N‑COUNT A private library is a collection of things such as books or music, that is normally only used with the permission of the owner. □ My thanks go to the British School of Osteopathy, for the use of their library.
li|bret|tist /l I bre t I st/ (librettists ) N‑COUNT A librettist is a person who writes the words that are used in an opera or musical play.
li|bret|to /l I bre toʊ/ (librettos or libretti /libre ti/) N‑COUNT The libretto of an opera is the words that are sung in it. □ …the author of one or two opera librettos.
Liby|an /l I biən/ (Libyans )
1 ADJ Libyan means belonging or relating to Libya, or to its people or culture.
2 N‑COUNT A Libyan is a Libyan citizen, or a person of Libyan origin.
lice /la I s/ Lice is the plural of louse .
li|cence ◆◇◇ /la I s ə ns/ (licences ) in AM, use license 1 N‑COUNT A licence is an official document which gives you permission to do, use, or own something. □ Payne lost his driving licence a year ago for drink-driving. □ The painting was returned to Spain on a temporary import licence. □ [+ to-inf] It gained a licence to operate as a bank from the Bank of England in 1981.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft a N , N to-inf] If you say that something gives someone licence or a licence to act in a particular way, you mean that it gives them an excuse to behave in an irresponsible or excessive way. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ 'Dropping the charges has given racists a licence to kill,' said Jim's aunt.
3 → see also poetic licence
4 PHRASE If someone does something under licence , they do it by special permission from a government or other authority. □ …a company which made the Mig-21 jet fighter under licence from Russia. COLLOCATIONS licence NOUN 1
noun + licence : banking, driving, fishing; marriage, TV; exploration, export, firearms
adjective + licence : provisional; invalid, valid
verb + licence : award, grant, issue, renew; revoke, suspend; obtain, require SYNONYMS licence NOUN 1
permit: The majority of foreign nationals working here have work permits.
certificate: You will need to bring your birth certificate.
document: The police officer wanted to see all our documents.
li|cense /la I s ə ns/ (licenses , licensing , licensed ) VERB To license a person or activity means to give official permission for the person to do something or for the activity to take place. □ [V n] …a proposal that would require the state to license guns. □ [V n to-inf] Under the agreement, the council can license a U.S. company to produce the drug. [Also V n + to ]