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

There had been no photos of it, but an accurate-enough description in the first report was all he needed to approximate the horror.

From Literature

But it stopped short of collecting even approximate GPS information from American users operating the most updated version of the app, according to a 2024 version of its privacy policy.

From BBC

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but the rule of 120 stipulates that you can subtract your age from 120 to give you an approximate weighting in equities that would match your age.

From MarketWatch

I could tell she was measuring up its shadow to determine the approximate hour.

From Literature

“Bitcoin is within an approximate horizontal trend … assessed as technically neutral,” signifying unlikely massive moves ahead, according to investing platform Investtech’s analysis of technical indicators.

From Barron's

Related Words

• estimated