approximate
Americanadjective
-
near or approaching a certain state, condition, goal, or standard.
-
nearly exact; not perfectly accurate or correct.
The approximate time was 10 o'clock.
-
near; close together.
-
very similar; nearly identical.
verb (used with object)
-
approximates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
approximated,
past participle, past
-
approximating
present participle
-
to come near to; approach closely to.
to approximate an ideal.
-
to estimate.
We approximated the distance at three miles.
-
to simulate; imitate closely.
The motions of the stars can be approximated in a planetarium.
-
to bring near.
verb (used without object)
-
approximates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
approximated,
past participle, past
-
approximating
present participle
adjective
-
almost accurate or exact
-
inexact; rough; loose
only an approximate fit
-
much alike; almost the same
-
near; close together
verb
-
(usually foll by to) to come or bring near or close; be almost the same (as)
-
maths to find an expression for (some quantity) accurate to a specified degree See accurate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
approximatesimple
-
approximatessimple
-
have approximatedperfect
-
has approximatedperfect
-
am approximatingprogressive
-
are approximatingprogressive
-
is approximatingprogressive
-
have been approximatingperfect progressive
-
has been approximatingperfect progressive
Past
-
approximatedsimple
-
had approximatedperfect
-
was approximatingprogressive
-
were approximatingprogressive
-
had been approximatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of approximate
1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin approximātus drawn near to, approached (past participle of approximāre ). See ap- 1, proximate
Explanation
To approximate is to calculate the value of something based on informed knowledge. A computer program can approximate the value of a house based on square footage, number of rooms, year built, and other relevant factors. As a verb, approximate means "to estimate." Unlike the word guess, approximate implies the use of a logical or mathematical method. You might guess how tall a friend is based on the first number that comes to mind, but you could approximate his height by using your own height as a comparison. As an adjective, approximate can mean "near" or "close together." If your friend calls to say he’s at a location approximate to your house, she’s in your neighborhood.
Vocabulary lists containing approximate
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Your area’s heatwave threshold may be approximate if your postcode is near a county boundary.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Early data is approximate and we won’t get any official inflation figures until next month.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Senate seats in South Carolina become open with the approximate frequency of a total solar eclipse.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
The results marked 10 consecutive quarters of growth at Carvana, executives said, and the approximate doubling of retail sales in the past two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Then we clustered dripping wet around the heap of prison dresses, holding them up, passing them about, looking for approximate fits.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
To save the hue, Voltarc reformulated it with a clever workaround: a color-balancing technique that approximates the iconic green glow without the missing component.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
“We continue to believe that ARCC’s current dividend approximates the long-run underlying earnings power of our business,” CEO Kort Schnabel told listeners on last week’s earnings call.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
The more time they spend together during a summer in an Argentine beachside town, the more Maxi’s straight guy curiosity approximates real romantic interest for the cautious but enticed Pedro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025
His explanation for this time frame is that it approximates the debt refinancing cycle because the weighted average maturity of that debt is just over five years.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 21, 2025
Instead he approximates the accents of teachers and classmates.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
The researchers first used a vacuum pump to remove air from glass tubes, producing conditions that approximated the near emptiness of space.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
In some cases, horizontal placement of circles on the date axes is approximated to accommodate others within the same range.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
So when he launched his own podcast this October, my reaction roughly approximated that one Vince McMahon meme: Bill Nighy has an advice podcast?
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2025
Many argue that while hard to measure, cognitive diversity can be approximated by demographics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
Political complexity was greatest on Tonga and Hawaii, where the powers of hereditary chiefs approximated those of kings elsewhere in the world, and where land was controlled by the chiefs, not by the commoners.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Sometimes seasoned simply with salt and pepper, sometimes coated in Shake ’n Bake, that sandy, paprika-tinged breadcrumb mix that crisped into something approximating a crust.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026
The majority of its dozen tracks coast along with an agreeable yet lifeless electro-pop groove, with layered voices approximating the earnest and indistinct ballads of latter-day Coldplay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
While Fennell’s film anchors itself in Brontë’s narrative landscape, it also takes creative liberties in service of approximating the director’s personal experience reading it as a teen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
However, scientists think they are close to approximating a Majorana particle in a much different guise.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 20, 2023
He blew into it, his red cheeks filling it with breath and spittle, creating screeching noises, nothing approximating music.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
