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

She says she had tried for years to start one, but it was only after his death that she got the approval.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

In some divisions I think the approval rate is definitely more than 50% and in others it’s probably like 10%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

An immense wave of patriotism followed the 9/11 attacks, with American flags displayed throughout the nation, while Bush saw record-high approval ratings.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Additional land wrangling remained after the museum’s approval.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Regina tried giving her son the approval that every child needs, and the wings to find himself, by encouraging him to engage in sports, take part in family excursions, and do better in school.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

The transaction remains subject to approvals, EQT said, and is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

However, the service will come with a human driver behind the wheel to monitor and take over if needed, as the companies work to secure further regulatory approvals for fully driverless operations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Some public health experts have feared this would disrupt or delay vaccine approvals.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

The proposed merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 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