approximately
Americanadverb
adverb
Etymology
Origin of approximately
First recorded in 1845–50; approximate ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
Approximately is close to a particular time, measurement, or number — but it's not exact. If you plan to meet a friend at approximately 2:00, it will be okay if you are a bit early or late. Approximately has its roots in the Latin word proximus, meaning "nearly." So, approximately means "about" or "close to." If you tell someone there will be approximately seventy people at a dinner, it means you expect seventy people, though the actual number could be a little more or a little less than seventy.
Vocabulary lists containing approximately
Walk Two Moons
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Ocean Storm Alert!
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STAAR Grade 7 Mathematics: The Language of the Test
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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.
The first wave began in the 1840s and lasted until 1889, bringing approximately 14 million people to the country's shores, primarily from northern and western Europe nations.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2026
By the mid-1960s, there were approximately 12,000 bowling alleys in the United States that were largely sustained by league play; they were often family businesses that were passed down over generations.
From Salon • Jul. 3, 2026
The event was produced when two black holes with masses of approximately 26 and 30 times that of the Sun merged more than three billion light-years from Earth.
From Science Daily • Jul. 2, 2026
Daniel Powers, Cancro’s brother-in-law, got around $30 million at that time, while Phillip Sivolobov, Cancro’s stepson, received total compensation of approximately $50 million.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 2, 2026
Kiel was approximately a hundred kilometers from Denmark and only eighty kilometers from where my sister was sent to live with our old great-aunt.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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.
