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

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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

Depositions among the newly released court records also provided insight into what prompted agents to approach potential targets for arrest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

"That's why my approach is to create a biodiverse place that can adapt to the coming era."

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Customers are entering the latest episode with sufficient inventory and a more disciplined purchasing approach, reducing the potential of panic buying, she reckons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The prime minister has stated explicitly that he wants to expand the approach across England.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

She allowed him to approach her and got down to business.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Whilst countries differ in their approaches to tackling antisemitism – from toughening laws to improving education – they also identify common experiences, with near universal concern about the role of social media and artificial intelligence.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

The delivery industry has already seen a pickup in acquisitions, but nothing approaches the scale of the Delivery Hero deal, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

These approaches can require complicated equipment, precise alignment, angular measurements, or coincidence detection.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

These prediction markets are relatively young, and if states have various approaches to the question, we can see in a natural experiment how things go in a few election cycles.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

She approaches me, and I carefully set the lizard in her hands, but then she gets in my face.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

The BBC has approached the French coastguard for comment, while the UK government said it was in contact with the French authorities to understand the full context of the incident.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Because the spacecraft approached Mars at a high-phase angle, the planet first appeared as a narrow, bright crescent.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

Decades ago, few pitchers threw fastballs that approached 100 mph.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Cosmo let us pet him, then approached Hook.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Anna May elbowed me as we approached the table.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Fawaz received a work permit at the age of 33, by which point many professional fighters are approaching retirement.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

President Donald Trump seems aware that Fed officials are approaching interest-rate policy independently of Warsh’s views.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

With the deadline approaching, Lineage as of Friday had removed 1,395 truck loads — an estimated 6,399 tons — of waste from the warehouse, according to an online tracker from the company.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

"Three weeks ago, we were expecting to guide to full-year pre-tax earnings approaching $1.5 billion," Chief Financial Officer Devon May said on a conference call.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

The fall was approaching, and winter was rushing in right behind it.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Related Words

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