I. war ‧ rant 1 /ˈwɒrənt $ ˈwɔː-, ˈwɑː-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old North French ; Origin: warant ]
1 . [countable] a legal document that is signed by a judge, allowing the police to take a particular action
warrant for
The magistrate issued a warrant for his arrest.
⇨ ↑ death warrant , ↑ search warrant
2 . [countable] an official document giving someone the right to do something, for example buy ↑ share s in a company:
The company issued warrants for 300,000 shares.
3 . formal no warrant for (doing) something no good reason for doing something:
There is no warrant for copying other people’s work.
⇨ ↑ unwarranted
II. warrant 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old North French ; Origin: warantir , from warant ; ⇨ ↑ warrant 1 ]
1 . to need or deserve:
This tiny crowd does not warrant such a large police presence.
warrant attention/consideration etc
Another area that warrants attention is that of funding for universities.
2 . to promise that something is true
warrant that
The Author hereby warrants that the Publisher is the owner of the copyright.
3 . I’ll warrant (you) old-fashioned used to tell someone that you are sure about something
warrant (that)
I’ll warrant we won’t see him again.