certify

Universal Words verb (certifies, certifying, certified, certified) 1 ~ sb/sth (as) sth to state officially, especially in writing, that sth is true: [V(that)] He handed her a piece of paper certifying (that) she was in good health. * This (= this document) is to certify that... * [VN-ADJ] He was certified dead on arrival. * The accounts were certified (as) correct by the finance department. [also VNtoinf] 2 [VN] [usuallypassive] ~ sb (as sth) to give sb an official document proving that they are qualified to work in a particular profession 3 [usuallypassive] (BrE, law) to officially state that sb is mentally ill, so that they can be given medical treatment: [VN] Patients must be certified before they can be admitted to the hospital. [also VN-ADJ]