proximate
Americanadjective
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next; nearest; immediately before or after in order, place, occurrence, etc.
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close; very near.
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approximate; fairly accurate.
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forthcoming; imminent.
adjective
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next or nearest in space or time
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very near; close
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immediately preceding or following in a series
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a less common word for approximate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of proximate
1590–1600; < Late Latin proximātus, past participle of proximāre to near, approach. See proximal, -ate 1
Explanation
Proximate things are either nearby or close in time. The proximate arrival of a new grandchild means your grandma had better finish knitting those booties. A Rube Goldberg machine is like a giant chain of proximate causes – one action causes another. Use the adjective proximate for things that are close to each other or somehow related. Like the noun proximity, or nearby area, it comes from the Latin root, proximus, "nearest." In legal terms, you may have a case if the proximate cause of a fall was someone’s negligence. You can use proximate to mean "imminent" (or close by, but in terms of time), as in "The proximate publication of her story made her both nervous and excited."
Vocabulary lists containing proximate
This Week in Words: April 22 - 27, 2018
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Call Us What We Carry
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 5–April 11, 2026
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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.
Maybe those comments, which received considerable coverage in Canada, were not the proximate cause for Carney's diplomats to pack up and go home over the weekend.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The proximate cause is a fuel price increase, no question about it.
From Slate ● May 5, 2026
With investors already fearful about the more proximate risks posed by the hundreds of billions being spent on AI, this vision of the future spooked the markets further.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
In each case, what might have otherwise been viewed as a minor offense was taken seriously because the actors were proximate to those in power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
Behind these and other proximate factors, I saw an “Optimal Fragmentation Principle”: ultimate geographic factors that led to China becoming unified early and mostly remaining unified thereafter, while Europe remained constantly fragmented.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
