approval

American  

[uh-proo-vuhl] / əˈpru vəl /

noun

• approvals
  plural

1. the act of approving; approbation.

2. formal permission or sanction.

3. Philately. one of a group of selected stamps sent by a dealer to a prospective customer for examination and either purchase or return.

---

idioms

1. on approval, without obligation to buy unless satisfactory to the customer upon trial or examination and, otherwise, returnable.

   We ship merchandise on approval.

approval British  

/ əˈpruːvəl /

noun

1. the act of approving

2. formal agreement; sanction

3. a favourable opinion; commendation

4. (of articles for sale) for examination with an option to buy or return

---

approval More Idioms  

1. see on approval; seal of approval.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonapproval
  noun
• preapproval
  noun
• reapproval
  noun
• self-approval
  noun
• proapproval
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• approvals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of approval

First recorded in 1680–90; approve + -al ²

Explanation

Approval is a formal agreement. It's probably not a good idea to mail the invitations for your beach party until you've gotten official approval for the enormous bonfire you're planning to light. Building designs, budgets, grant applications — these all require official approval before they can be put into effect. You can also use the word approval to talk about less formal permission, like a teacher's approval of your plan to buy pizza for the whole class. Approval also means the belief that something is good, like your approval of your neighbor's purple house. Until 1800, it was much more common for people to use the word approvance to mean the same thing.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

approval approvals

Ellison’s pursuit of Warner entailed nine bids and a showdown with Netflix, followed by a long effort to secure regulatory approval around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

The judge’s approval allows tech scion David Ellison to finalize his company’s $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Experts believe approval for the package is unlikely before the G20 summit in the United States in December where Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump are expected to meet for the fourth time this year.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

The plan is for construction to begin by 2032 if it receives final approval.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

It reads: “Dear Wife, If the result meets your approval, I shall be content, love to all the household.”

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Under current rules, if the City Council doesn’t vote on an amendment within 75 days of the mayor and Planning Commission approvals, it’s automatically denied.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Abbott, who previously declared Texas the “epicenter of AI development,” has now halted approvals for new data centers and ordered all state agencies to pause funding for Flock cameras.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Extensive testing, additional development, and regulatory approvals would be required before it could be used to treat patients.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

The biotech company’s stock rises after Barclays gives it a double upgrade, citing confidence in upcoming FDA approvals.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

Lawrence pried the necessary salary and staff approvals from Sproul, and committed himself personally to finding money to build Seaborg’s hot lab and reactor.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• blessing
• confirmation
• consent
• endorsement
• go ahead
• green light
• license
• mandate
• permission
• ratification
• recommendation
• sanction
• support