approximate

American  

[uh-prok-suh-mit, uh-prok-suh-meyt] / əˈprɒk sə mɪt, əˈprɒk səˌmeɪt /

adjective

1. near or approaching a certain state, condition, goal, or standard.

2. nearly exact; not perfectly accurate or correct.

   The approximate time was 10 o'clock.

3. near; close together.

4. very similar; nearly identical.

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verb (used with object)

approximated, approximating

1. to come near to; approach closely to.

   to approximate an ideal.

2. to estimate.

   We approximated the distance at three miles.

3. to simulate; imitate closely.

   The motions of the stars can be approximated in a planetarium.

4. to bring near.

verb (used without object)

approximated, approximating

1. to come near in position, character, amount, etc.

approximate British  

adjective

1. almost accurate or exact

2. inexact; rough; loose

   only an approximate fit

3. much alike; almost the same

4. near; close together

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verb

1. (usually foll by to) to come or bring near or close; be almost the same (as)

2. maths to find an expression for (some quantity) accurate to a specified degree See accurate

Other Word Forms

• approximately adverb
• approximative adjective

Etymology

Origin of approximate

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin approximātus drawn near to, approached (past participle of approximāre ). See ap- ¹, proximate

Example Sentences

More than a dozen could not give an approximate start date.

From BBC

Hegseth on Thursday indirectly confirmed the approximate value of the Pentagon's request for additional funding, saying: "As far as $200 billion, I think that number could move."

From Barron's

"For example, their eggs are unlike those of any living species, so we invented the resin eggs to approximate real oviraptor eggs as best as we could."

From Science Daily

Then we clustered dripping wet around the heap of prison dresses, holding them up, passing them about, looking for approximate fits.

From Literature

Interactions are then added as small corrections, allowing researchers to approximate how large numbers of particles affect each other.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• estimated