the act of approving formal agreement; sanction a favourable opinion; commendation - on approval ⇒
(of articles for sale) for examination with an option to buy or return
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
ap•prov•al /əˈpruvəl/USA pronunciation
n.
See -prob-, -prov-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- the act of approving or acceptance;
approbation:[uncountable]Her nomination was met with full approval. - permission;
acceptance: [uncountable]The new drug has government approval.[countable]an approval for a mortgage. - a feeling of liking, admiring, or favoring:[uncountable]The teacher smiled at the student with approval.
- Idioms on approval, that may be tried or tested and returned if found not to be satisfactory:We bought the VCR on approval.
See -prob-, -prov-.
ap•prov•al
(ə pro̅o̅′vəl),USA pronunciation n.
- the act of approving;
approbation. - formal permission or sanction.
- Stamps[Philately.]one of a group of selected stamps sent by a dealer to a prospective customer for examination and either purchase or return.
- on approval, without obligation to buy unless satisfactory to the customer upon trial or examination and, otherwise, returnable:We ship merchandise on approval.
- approve + -al2 1680–90
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'give approval' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):