Trivia Time

Which fictional character is known for having a clumsy romantic approach?

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approach

American  

[uh-prohch] / əˈproʊtʃ /

verb (used with object)

• approaches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• approached,
  past participle,  past
• approaching
  present participle

1. 

   to come near or nearer to.

   The cars slowed down as they approached the intersection.

   Synonyms:

   near

2. to come near to in quality, character, time, or condition; to come within range for comparison.

   As a poet he hardly approaches Keats.

3. to present, offer, or make a proposal or request to.

   to approach the president with a suggestion.

4. to begin work on; set about.

   to approach a problem.

5. to make advances to; address.

6. to bring near to something.

   Antonyms:

   withdraw

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verb (used without object)

• approaches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• approached,
  past participle,  past
• approaching
  present participle

1. to come nearer; draw near.

   A storm is approaching.

2. to come near in character, time, amount, etc.; approximate.

noun

• approaches
  plural

1. the act of drawing near.

   the approach of a train.

2. nearness or close approximation.

   a fair approach to accuracy.

3. any means of access, as a road or ramp.

   the approaches to a city.

4. the method used or steps taken in setting about a task, problem, etc..

   His approach to any problem was to prepare an outline.

5. the course to be followed by an aircraft in approaching for a landing or in joining a traffic pattern.

   The plane's approach to the airport was hazardous.

6. Sometimes approaches. a presentation, offer, or proposal.

7. Military. approaches, works for protecting forces in an advance against a fortified position.

8. Also called approach shot.  Golf. a stroke made after teeing off, by which a player attempts to get the ball onto the putting green.

9. Bowling.

   1. the steps taken and the manner employed in delivering the ball.

      He favors a four-step approach.

   2. Also called runway.  the area behind the foul line, from which the ball is delivered.

approach British  

/ əˈprəʊtʃ /

verb

1. to come nearer in position, time, quality, character, etc, to (someone or something)

2. (tr) to make advances to, as with a proposal, suggestion, etc

3. (tr) to begin to deal with

   to approach a problem

4. rare (tr) to cause to come near

---

noun

1. the act of coming towards or drawing close or closer

2. a close approximation

3. the way or means of entering or leaving; access

4. (often plural) an advance or overture to a person

5. a means adopted in tackling a problem, job of work, etc

6. Also called: approach path.  the course followed by an aircraft preparing for landing

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• approacher
  noun
• reapproach
  verb
• approachless
  adjective
• unapproached
  adjective
• unapproaching
  adjective
• well-approached
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• approaches
  plural

Participles

• approaching
  present
• approached
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• approach
  simple
• approaches
  simple
• have approached
  perfect
• has approached
  perfect
• am approaching
  progressive
• are approaching
  progressive
• is approaching
  progressive
• have been approaching
  perfect progressive
• has been approaching
  perfect progressive

Past

• approached
  simple
• had approached
  perfect
• was approaching
  progressive
• were approaching
  progressive
• had been approaching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will approach
  simple
• will have approached
  perfect
• will be approaching
  progressive
• will have been approaching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of approach

First recorded in 1275–1325; (verb) Middle English a(p)prochen, from Old French aprochier, from Late Latin adpropiāre “to draw near,” equivalent to ad- “to” and propiāre “to draw near,” derivative of Latin propius “nearer” (comparative of prope “near”), replacing Latin appropinquāre; (noun) late Middle English approche, derivative of the verb; see ad- ( def. ), propinquity ( def. )

Explanation

To approach is to get near something. An airplane is cleared for a final approach just as the wheels approach the landing strip. Approach comes from the Latin word appropriare which means "go nearer to." You can physically approach something, like a waiter going to a table. Or, you can approach a subject, usually one you're a little nervous about — like a new employee might approach her boss about getting a raise. Time can also approach, like winter, midnight, or even old age.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

approach approaches approached approaching

One reason Beijing is in favour of their approach is that it has worked well for them.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Beyond recent hardware announcements, Apple has taken a more measured approach to AI compared with other Big Tech companies that are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on building out data-center infrastructure.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Cornell offered a gentler approach and a more capacious central recommendation: To find their footing in the age of artificial intelligence, universities must graduate students with a broader, more human-centered judgment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The findings point toward a possible new approach to developing carbon-neutral construction materials.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Here I am knocking on the door, watching a figure approach through the glass: a maid in a crisp white hat.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

It also pits Chinese models against those in the US where developers including OpenAI and Anthropic use closed-model approaches, and their design elements are kept a secret.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Secretary-General António Guterres called for a global framework to manage AI risks, and the body has launched an international dialogue with government and technology companies to approaches to governing the technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Programs that combine several approaches may also be useful.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

Two large e-commerce platforms are taking different approaches to the latest artificial-intelligence phenomenon.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

No one has a proper answer, yet as dusk approaches there is a substantial crowd of spectators gathering outside the gates.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

A few weeks after the event on La Brea, she was approached by a sponsor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Treasurys as they have approached 5% yields, says fixed income CIO Mark Dowding in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

If young Americans serving in uniform during World War II were unaware of how Marshall approached general officer accountability, they certainly felt war’s ravages up close and personal.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

Their story also caught the attention of Lisdoonvarna locals, who approached Timby - a communications consultant - about being an ambassador for the festival.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The lizards watched as Pelicarnassus approached Miel five levels up the jungle gym.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

Most of those worrisome capabilities do not exist today in anything approaching their most frightening forms.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Diane Wolfe said she is approaching institutions but declined to identify them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

It’s rapidly approaching 99%, and it’s no longer a joke.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

For some, networking comes naturally but for others, the thought of approaching someone they don't know and trying to make a professional connection can fill them with dread.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

In the grand concourse of Union Station, I slowly turn toward the voice approaching behind me.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• attitude
• concept
• idea
• manner
• means
• method
• mode
• procedure
• program
• style
• technique
• way