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.

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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

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

But for Lurie, the argument that demand should inevitably lead to a stamp of approval falls short given the "extremely thin science."

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

CN had pressured U.S. federal regulators in recent months to demand more information from the two players as they sought approval for their merger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The European Commission’s approval came two days after Ellison’s firm was dealt a substantial setback.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

This was while the sheikh wanted the Trump administration’s approval for access to sensitive A.I. chips.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

He was never asked by the filmmakers to give his approval of the project, nor did he receive any compensation from it.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Completion is expected around the end of 2026, subject to approval by BlueNord shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting as well as other customary conditions, including receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

With improved access to capital, rising FDA approvals and increased deal activity, “the backdrop increasingly resembles the early stages of a new earnings cycle rather than the later stages of the last one,” they said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Greenpeace Africa called for the $17-billion project to be suspended pending an independent environmental assessment before any approvals are granted.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

In this case the bet is on the distant prospect that government approvals would eventually make the project real.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

The government’s engine of bureaucracy accelerated slowly, however, and although the Justice Department decided to make its move against him, it took time and approvals to decide when and where an arrest could be made.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

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