approval

for examination, with the privilege of return. I ordered the merchandise on approval so I could send it back if I didn't like it. Sorry, you can't buy this on approval. All sales are final.

a statement or action that shows a good opinion of something We can finalize the trip to China once we get Bernard's seal of approval. With the seal of approval of a government grant, arts organizations find it easier to raise funds.

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.

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.

For examination or trial by a customer without the obligation to buy: took the dress on approval.