quality control

American  

noun

1. a system for verifying and maintaining a desired level of quality in an existing product or service by careful planning, use of proper equipment, continued inspection, and corrective action as required.

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quality control British  

noun

1. control of the relative quality of a manufactured product, usually by statistical sampling techniques

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Etymology

Origin of quality control

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quality control

Inside detail: At a time when Pixar’s reputation was still fragile, a planned sequel was almost fully scrapped and remade in less than a year in order to maintain the studio’s quality control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

Under normal conditions, SEL1L acts as part of the cell's quality control system by identifying damaged or misfolded proteins and marking them for destruction.

From Science Daily ● May 21, 2026

It has said that quality control measures, which usually remove such responses, were not applied due to human error.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

The model relies on a sharply curated assortment—often just a few thousand stock-keeping units, far fewer than a typical hypermarket—which simplifies choice and reinforces a perception of disciplined quality control.

From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026

Moreover, if this trade-off is not acknowledged, there is a tendency to deny or cover up the inevitable defective items, which makes the job of quality control that much more difficult.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos