on approval

Idioms  

1. To be returned if not satisfactory, as in They're offering custom-made shoes, manufactured from a computer design, on approval. This expression, applied nearly always to the purchase of goods, was first recorded in 1870.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on approval

The company also said they it continues to make progress on approval in China, which analysts said it will help the autonomous driving technology further developed in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

GSK’s stock initially rose 2.9% on approval news but fell 5% the next day as investors assessed the limited scope of the approval.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2025

They’re waiting on approval from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2025

Paramount’s special committee has discussed conditioning the deal on approval by a vote of a majority of minority shareholders.

From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2024

And still hesitating, she had three that pleased her most sent home, "on approval," before she decided finally to purchase one of them.

From Marriage by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

Related Words

• empirical
• preliminary
• unproved