approximation
[uh-prok-suh-mey-shuh n]
- a guess or estimate: Ninety-three million miles is an approximation of the distance of the earth from the sun.
- nearness in space, position, degree, or relation; proximity; closeness.
- Mathematics, Physics. a result that is not necessarily exact, but is within the limits of accuracy required for a given purpose.
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Origin of approximation
1400–50; late Middle English approximacioun (< Middle French) < Medieval Latin approximātiōn-, stem of approximātiō. See approximate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for approximation
Contemporary Examples
To the second point, Reinhart and Rogoff had, to a first approximation, zero actual effect on policy.
There are, to a first approximation, zero healthy adoptable babies in the US foster care system.
Finally, the former president is home, back in civilian life—or at some approximation of it.
Historical Examples
The approximation of sound in these names is sufficiently evident.
Even an approximation to it is rare, and absolute accuracy is still rarer.
A Book for All ReadersAinsworth Rand Spofford
"I thought so, too," she answered, with that simplicity ever attending our approximation to the truth.
Tiverton TalesAlice Brown
This, out here to the southwest, is what might be called an approximation to his trail.
Under FireCharles King
The more perfect the approximation to truth, the more perfect is art.
Spontaneous Activity in EducationMaria Montessori
approximation
- the process or result of making a rough calculation, estimate, or guesshe based his conclusion on his own approximation of the fuel consumption
- an imprecise or unreliable record or versionan approximation of what really happened
- maths an inexact number, relationship, or theory that is sufficiently accurate for a specific purpose
- maths
- an estimate of the value of some quantity to a desired degree of accuracy
- an expression in simpler terms than a given expression which approximates to it
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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 approximation
n.
early 15c., "act of coming near or close," noun of action from approximate (v.). Meaning "result of approximating" is from 1650s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
approximation
(ə-prŏk′sə-mā′shən)- Bringing tissue edges into desired apposition for suturing.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.