Also means
the authorities
Usage Note
Autorité is used both in the abstract sense (having authority) and concretely (les autorités = the authorities, i.e. officials). Faire autorité means 'to be authoritative' or 'to be the gold standard'. The adjective autoritaire means 'authoritarian'.
Examples
"Les autorités ont fermé la route principale."
Natural Translation
The authorities closed the main road.

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