of·fi·cial
ə-ˈfi-shəl 
ō-
1
: one who holds or is invested (see invest entry 2 sense 1) with an office : officer
government officials
A company official responded to our request.
2
: one who administers the rules of a game or sport especially as a referee or umpire
a football official
1
: of or relating to an office, position, or trust
official duties
official documents
2
: holding an office : having authority
the president's official representative
3
a
: authoritative, authorized
official statement
an official biography
b
: prescribed or recognized as authorized
an official language
c
: described by the U.S. Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary
The official drug is sold under several trade names.
4
: befitting or characteristic of a person in office
extended an official greeting
official condolences
Synonyms
Examples of official in a Sentence
Noun
She interviewed a senior official from the previous administration.
A company official responded to our request.
Adjective
She was accused of destroying official documents.
Her illness did not prevent her from performing her official duties.
The Vice President is on an official trip.
We extended an official greeting to the ambassador.
Recent Examples on the Web
Willem Marx, NPR, 27 Apr. 2024
The Pentagon’s days as the lone drone superpower are are long over, said a senior defense official who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
—USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
Parsons said officials have asked experts at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for help determining what started the fire.
—San Diego Union Tribune, Orange County Register, 26 Apr. 2024
Township firefighter Matt Myers also was injured when debris came through the windshield of a vehicle and glass clipped the side of his face, township officials previously said.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 26 Apr. 2024
Our officials sell half of the Coliseum for a song to the A’s without a commitment to stay in Oakland.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
About 152 people across 30 counties in West Virginia have been exposed to measles, state health officials said Friday.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 26 Apr. 2024
The Kansas City Scout outage stretched into Friday following a cyberattack that prompted officials to shut down the traffic information system for the metro area as a protective measure.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Health officials maintain — and experts agree — that pasteurized milk is safe to drink.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 28 Apr. 2024
The show’s official X (formerly Twitter) account posted the news on Friday.
—Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Apr. 2024
More migrant families with children sleeping in tents on Skid Row test official response.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
For example, the official rate used by government industries and agencies is 24 pesos to the U.S. dollar, while for individuals, the rate is 120 pesos to the dollar.
—Andrea Rodríguez, Quartz, 27 Apr. 2024
Lapid is the official leader of the Israeli opposition.
—Lulu Garcia-Navarro, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2024
The board is expected to offer Fowler an official contract at its meeting on May 9.
—Kristen Taketa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2024
How get tickets to Shakira tour 2024 in Phoenix
Citi is the official card of the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour in the U.S., giving cardmembers access to purchase presale tickets from 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 17, until 10 p.m. Sunday, April 21, through the Citi Entertainment program.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024
Two of the four counts in the federal indictment against Trump involve the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and alleged conspiracy to obstruct and actual obstruction of an official proceeding.
—Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2024
Noun
An official from the World Economic Forum said senior leaders, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, will meet in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh next week.
—Willem Marx, NPR, 27 Apr. 2024
The Pentagon’s days as the lone drone superpower are are long over, said a senior defense official who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
—USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
Parsons said officials have asked experts at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for help determining what started the fire.
—San Diego Union Tribune, Orange County Register, 26 Apr. 2024
Township firefighter Matt Myers also was injured when debris came through the windshield of a vehicle and glass clipped the side of his face, township officials previously said.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 26 Apr. 2024
Our officials sell half of the Coliseum for a song to the A’s without a commitment to stay in Oakland.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
About 152 people across 30 counties in West Virginia have been exposed to measles, state health officials said Friday.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 26 Apr. 2024
The Kansas City Scout outage stretched into Friday following a cyberattack that prompted officials to shut down the traffic information system for the metro area as a protective measure.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Health officials maintain — and experts agree — that pasteurized milk is safe to drink.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 28 Apr. 2024
The show’s official X (formerly Twitter) account posted the news on Friday.
—Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Apr. 2024
More migrant families with children sleeping in tents on Skid Row test official response.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
For example, the official rate used by government industries and agencies is 24 pesos to the U.S. dollar, while for individuals, the rate is 120 pesos to the dollar.
—Andrea Rodríguez, Quartz, 27 Apr. 2024
Lapid is the official leader of the Israeli opposition.
—Lulu Garcia-Navarro, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2024
The board is expected to offer Fowler an official contract at its meeting on May 9.
—Kristen Taketa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2024
How get tickets to Shakira tour 2024 in Phoenix
Citi is the official card of the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour in the U.S., giving cardmembers access to purchase presale tickets from 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 17, until 10 p.m. Sunday, April 21, through the Citi Entertainment program.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024
Two of the four counts in the federal indictment against Trump involve the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and alleged conspiracy to obstruct and actual obstruction of an official proceeding.
—Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'official.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to official
Dictionary Entries Near official
Cite this Entry
“Official.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/official. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
official
1 of 2 noun
of·fi·cial
ə-ˈfish-əl
1
: a person who holds an office
2
: a person who enforces the rules in a game or sport
official
2 of 2 adjective1
: of or relating to an office
official duties
2
: having authority to perform a duty
the official government of the 13 colonies
3
: prescribed or permitted by authority
the official language
an official American League baseball
4
: proper for a person in office
an official greeting
Medical Definition
official
adjective
of·fi·cial
ə-ˈfish-əl
: prescribed or recognized as authorized
specifically
: described by the United States Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary compare nonofficial, unofficial
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