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

"By taking a surface swab approach, we've been able to monitor a far larger number of bat boxes in a very short space of time," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Broad approach: An active fund holding a whopping 800 stocks is beating major indexes.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

“Given these outcomes and a conservative approach to dividends, we think it introduces the potential for Origin to pursue scale growth over FY27,” analyst Tom Allen says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Necessary to that approach, which brings to mind the watchful grace of last year’s stellar memory drama “Familiar Touch,” is the wonderful Poulter’s lived-in presence as someone trying to not even have a presence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Clare was just about to nuzzle back into the warmth of her neck, to draw his fluffy tail tighter around them, when his ear caught the sound of an approach.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

All three approaches had been tested individually before, but none had succeeded in permanently clearing the virus.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

Bournemouth rejected a £64m bid from Chelsea for the midfielder last month and made it clear that any further approaches would not be welcomed.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Some investors are worried that this AI-powered bull market might be getting a little long in the tooth as it approaches its fourth birthday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Some investors are worried that this artificial-intelligence-powered bull market might be getting a little long in the tooth as it approaches its fourth birthday.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

He approaches her so he can look down and she has to look up.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Clemens Ries, who had recently joined the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry for an internship as he approached the end of his biology degree, took on the challenge.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

When I first approached the man behind the counter, he had introduced himself as Bill, saying, “I sort of hang around.”

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Miller said that day he had approached a deputy ahead of the checkpoint and told that deputy he had two firearms in his vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Singer-songwriter KT Tunstall was delighted to be approached to write the music for the show.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

He grunted and groaned and glared at Zeke as he approached, but the metal wouldn’t budge.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

This week, she crunched the numbers for a couple doing well financially — running two businesses — but is approaching 60, when they wish to retire.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

It may be approaching the limits of Washington’s patience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

At the time, the startup was valued at $29 billion, and now its valuation is approaching $1 trillion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Wisley in Surrey has gone more than 50 days without a drop of rain, while southern England is approaching two months without any notable rainfall.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Beowulf said in admiration, but the thunder of approaching hooves prevented Penelope from correcting him.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

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