approval

American  

[uh-proo-vuhl] / əˈpru vəl /

noun

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.

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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

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approval More Idioms  

1. see on approval; seal of approval.

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Other Word Forms

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

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

The approval would last 12 months, and such proposals have appeared in the fund’s annual proxy filings for more than a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

AST SpaceMobile shares rose after receiving FCC approval.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

Prior authorization, which is the approval process health insurers require before agreeing to pay for certain procedures or medication.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

The timing for each park’s final approval has yet to be determined.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Gale the polecat gnashed her teeth in approval, but Pasiphaë didn’t seem impressed.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

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