1. 当局;官方;当权者
    The authorities are the people who have the power to make decisions and to make sure that laws are obeyed.

authority的意思

    e.g. This provided a pretext for the authorities to cancel the elections...
           这给当局取消此次选举提供了借口。
    e.g. The prison authorities have been criticised for not moving more quickly to end the protest by inmates.
           监狱当局因没有尽快采取行动制止犯人抗议而受到批评。

2. 行政管理机构
    An authority is an official organization or government department that has the power to make decisions.

authority

    e.g. ...the Health Education Authority...
           卫生教育局
    e.g. Any alterations had to meet the approval of the local planning authority.
           任何改建都要取得当地规划机构的批准。

3. 权力；权限；职权
    Authority is the right to command and control other people.

    e.g. Local police chiefs should re-emerge as figures of authority and reassurance in their areas...
           各地警察局局长应当重树其维护辖区安定的执法者形象。
    e.g. The judge had no authority to order a second trial.
           法官无权进行二次审判。

4. 威信
    If someone has authority, they have a quality which makes other people take notice of what they say.

    e.g. He had no natural authority and no capacity for imposing his will on others.
           他天生缺乏威信，根本没有能力把他的意志强加于人。

5. （官方的正式）许可
    Authority is official permission to do something.

    e.g. The prison governor has refused to let him go, saying he must first be given authority from his own superiors.
           监狱长拒绝释放他，说他首先必须得到上级官员的许可。

6. （某一方面的）权威人士，专家
    Someone who is an authority on a particular subject knows a lot about it.

    e.g. He's universally recognized as an authority on Russian affairs.
           他是公认的俄罗斯事务专家。

7. 有可靠的消息来源
    If you say you have it on good authority that something is true, you mean that you believe it is true because you trust the person who told you about it.

authority的翻译

    e.g. I have it on good authority that there's no way this light can cause skin cancer.
           我有来自权威人士的说法，这种光不可能引起皮肤癌。