"permits" in the noun sense
1. license, licence, permit
a legal document giving official permission to do something
2. license, permission, permit
the act of giving a formal (usually written) authorization
3. permit, Trachinotus falcatus
large game fish found in waters of the West Indies
"permits" in the verb sense
1. permit, allow, let, countenance
consent to, give permission
"She permitted her son to visit her estranged husband"
"I won't let the police search her basement"
"I cannot allow you to see your exam"
2. let, allow, permit
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
"This permits the water to rush in"
"This sealed door won't allow the water come into the basement"
"This will permit the rain to run off"
3. allow, permit, tolerate
allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting
"We don't allow dogs here"
"Children are not permitted beyond this point"
"We cannot tolerate smoking in the hospital"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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