approach

[uh-prohch]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR approach ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to come near or nearer to: The cars slowed down as they approached the intersection.

to come near to in quality, character, time, or condition; to come within range for comparison: As a poet he hardly approaches Keats.

to present, offer, or make a proposal or request to: to approach the president with a suggestion.

to begin work on; set about: to approach a problem.

to make advances to; address.

to bring near to something.

verb (used without object)

to come nearer; draw near: A storm is approaching.

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

noun

the act of drawing near: the approach of a train.

nearness or close approximation: a fair approach to accuracy.

any means of access, as a road or ramp: the approaches to a city.

the method used or steps taken in setting about a task, problem, etc.: His approach to any problem was to prepare an outline.

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.

Sometimes approaches. a presentation, offer, or proposal.

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

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

Bowling.

the steps taken and the manner employed in delivering the ball: He favors a four-step approach.
Also called runway.the area behind the foul line, from which the ball is delivered.

Origin of approach

1275–1325; (v.) Middle English a(p)prochen < Anglo-French, Old French a(p)rocher < Late Latin adpropiāre, verbal derivative, with ad- ad-, of Latin propius nearer (comparative of prope near), replacing Latin appropinquāre; (noun) late Middle English approche, derivative of the v.

Related formsap·proach·er, nounap·proach·less, adjectivere·ap·proach, verbun·ap·proached, adjectiveun·ap·proach·ing, adjectivewell-ap·proached, adjective

Synonyms for approach

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR approach ON THESAURUS.COM

1. near, close with. 3. sound out.

Antonyms for approach

6. withdraw.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for approached

reach, surround, near, contact, threaten, meet, come, match, feel, advise, greet, address, start, advance, approximate, resemble, impend, equal, bear, converge

Examples from the Web for approached

Contemporary Examples of approached

The cops climbed out and approached the man who remained in the street.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown
Michael Daly
January 7, 2015
Wahlberg fled from the scene and approached a bystander, Hoa Trinh, also Vietnamese.
Mark Wahlberg’s Pardon Plea: A Look Back At His Troubling, Violent, and Racist Rap Sheet
Marlow Stern
December 7, 2014
At 4:45 p.m., he was approached by Justin Damico, a plainclothes cop, and another officer, Daniel Pantaleo, outside the store.
Before Eric Garner, There Was Michael Stewart: The Tragic Story of the Real-Life Radio Raheem
Marlow Stern
December 4, 2014
For one man, it was the first time he had ever approached a woman.
The Secret World of Pickup Artist Julien Blanc
Brandy Zadrozny
December 1, 2014
In the fall, I received a Rhodes Scholarship—I approached arrogance.
‘Why Have I Lost Control?’: Cory Booker in ’92 on Rodney King Echoes Ferguson
Cory Booker
November 26, 2014

Historical Examples of approached

As I approached her apartment, the voice of Alcibiades met my ear.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
As I approached nearer I saw at every step new tokens of my friends.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Aunt Jane approached a degree nearer the equator, and said, gently, "I fear I do."
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
He was reading when I approached him, and he looked flushed and agitated.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
As they approached it, the dull hue that lay upon it resembled that of the leaden sky.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson

British Dictionary definitions for approached

approach

verb

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

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

(tr) to begin to deal withto approach a problem

(tr) rare to cause to come near

noun

the act of coming towards or drawing close or closer

a close approximation

the way or means of entering or leaving; access

(often plural) an advance or overture to a person

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

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

Word Origin for approach

C14: from Old French aprochier, from Late Latin appropiāre to draw near, from Latin prope near

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for approached

approach

c.1300, from Anglo-French approcher, Old French aprochier "approach, come closer" (12c., Modern French approcher), from Late Latin appropiare "go nearer to," from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + Late Latin propiare "come nearer," comparative of Latin prope "near" (see propinquity). Replaced Old English neahlæcan.

approach

mid-15c., from approach (v.). Figurative sense of "means of handling a problem, etc." is first attested 1905.