To validate something is to show that it is real or correct. Validate can also mean “to state or show that something is legal or official,” “to put a mark on something to show that it has been checked and is official or accepted,” and “to show that someone’s feelings, opinions, etc., are fair and reasonable.”

// The company’s claims about its latest product are yet to be validated.

// You can get discounted parking by having your parking garage ticket validated at the museum's ticket desk.

// The decline in sales only validated our concerns about the menu changes.

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“Rather than capitulate to the common assumption that all Korean immigrants and Korean Americans perceive Korea to be one’s home, or America for that matter, Clay Walls serves to fully contextualize and validate one’s sense of home and homeland, and the possibility of multiple homes and homelands ...” — David S. Cho, introduction to Clay Walls by Kim Ronyoung, 2024

When validate first entered the language in the mid-17th century, its meaning was tied fast to its close relative, the adjective valid, meaning “executed with the proper legal authority and formalities”: to validate something, such as a marriage or treaty, was to make it legally valid. This meaning is still current, but the word is now used in nonlegal and informal contexts as well. If the museum you visit validates your parking garage ticket, you're given an official mark on the ticket and you do not have to pay full price for parking. If someone’s claims cannot be validated, those claims cannot be confirmed. And if a coach puts an untested player into the game and the player scores the winning point, the player’s strong performance validates the coach’s decision.