From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishauthority figureauthority figuresomeone who has a position of power, especially because of their job teenage rebellion against authority figures → authority
Examples from the Corpus
authority figure• Has difficulty taking directions from authority figures? 4.• The more status you give to a large number of authority figures, the more, relatively, you diminish your own.• From the beginning Jones worked to destroy his followers' confidence in any of the old authority figures in their lives.• As we get older, we may be abused by other authority figures - teachers, doctors, bosses.• One wonders what is the unspoken view of the other authority figures involved in setting this up?• It was their word against a powerful authority figure, and they thought no one would believe them.• Disrespect the authority figure out there on the field and then wonder why the kids do it in their classrooms.• It would seem that we are far more likely to obey unquestioningly when the authority figure is actually present. 