/euh prooh"veuhl/ , n.
1. the act of approving; approbation.
2. formal permission or sanction.
3. Philately. one of a group of selected stamps sent by a dealer to a prospective customer for examination and either purchase or return.
4. on approval , without obligation to buy unless satisfactory to the customer upon trial or examination and, otherwise, returnable: We ship merchandise on approval.
[ 1680-90; APPROVE + -AL 2 ]