授权 means 'to authorize' or 'to delegate authority' — it describes the formal act of granting someone the power, permission, or legal right to perform a specific action or make decisions on one’s behalf. The first character 授 (shòu) means 'to confer' or 'to impart', and the second character 权 (quán) means 'authority', 'power', or 'right'. Together, they form a verb emphasizing a deliberate, often official transfer of decision-making capacity.

This word is commonly used in professional, legal, medical, and administrative contexts — for example, when a patient authorizes a doctor to share health records, or when a manager delegates signing authority to a team member. It implies trust, accountability, and usually requires documentation or explicit consent. Unlike casual permission words like 允许 (yǔnxǔ), 授权 carries stronger connotations of legitimacy, scope, and responsibility.