seal of approval

Idioms  

1. An endorsement of something or someone, as in Our candidate doesn't have the governor's seal of approval, or The new management gave the old refund policy their seal of approval. This idiom was used, and perhaps invented, as an advertising gimmick of Good Housekeeping Magazine, which gave its so-called “seal of approval” to products it endorsed; the products' packaging in turn bore a small emblem attesting to this endorsement. The noun seal here is used in the same sense as in set one's seal on.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

seal of approval

While hosts typically don’t do the actual pitching, their presence provides a seal of approval that helps drive a purchase.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

Still, while the European Union's election observation mission noted problems in how the vote was conducted, it gave its seal of approval.

From Barron's ● May 17, 2026

“Why in the world would we give a seal of approval or a thumbs up to make you the largest behemoth on the planet related to content?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

The answer that has academia’s seal of approval is to define momentum over the period from 12 months previously to one month previously, and to reform the portfolio on a monthly basis.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 20, 2025

Who Haymitch has stamped with his seal of approval.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• advocacy
• affirmation
• approval
• backing
• commercial
• confirmation
• favor
• permission
• ratification
• recommendation
• signature