soft credit inquiry

[ sawft kred-it in-kwuh-ree, soft ]

noun

, Finance.

1. an informal review of creditworthiness, which does not affect a person's credit score, carried out by a potential lender or credit issuer, or by a potential borrower who requests a copy of their credit report:

   A preapproved credit card offering received in the mail normally entails a soft credit inquiry.

Word History and Origins

Origin of soft credit inquiry¹

First recorded in 2005–10