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Synonyms

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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

Moreover, given their arbitrary nature, their rules on approval, control and sanctions must be held to be unjustified restrictions on the freedom to provide services.

From BBC • Dec. 21, 2023

Pencilled crosses here and there indicated books to be purchased, or at least sent on approval, to “customers known to the House.”

From At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern by Reed, Myrtle

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.