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3. take the liberty of

take the liberty of

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take the liberty of doing something

to do something without first getting someone's approval I've taken the liberty of reserving a seat for you on tomorrow morning's flight to New York.

See also: liberty, of, take

take the liberty of doing something

  (formal)

to do something that will have an effect on someone else without asking their permission (usually in past tenses) I took the liberty of reserving us two seats at the conference. I hope that's all right by you.

See also: liberty, of, take

take the liberty of

Act on one's own authority without permission from another, as in I took the liberty of forwarding the mail to his summer address. It is also put as take the liberty to, as in He took the liberty to address the Governor by her first name. This rather formal locution was first recorded in 1625 and does not imply the opprobrium of the similar-sounding take liberties.

See also: liberty, of, take