approach

[ uh-prohch ]

/ əˈproʊtʃ /

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See synonyms for: approach / approached / approaches / approaching on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to come near or nearer to: The cars slowed down as they approached the intersection.

to come near to in quality, character, time, or condition; to come within range for comparison: As a poet he hardly approaches Keats.

to present, offer, or make a proposal or request to: to approach the president with a suggestion.

to begin work on; set about: to approach a problem.

to make advances to; address.

to bring near to something.

verb (used without object)

to come nearer; draw near: A storm is approaching.

to come near in character, time, amount, etc.; approximate.

noun

the act of drawing near: the approach of a train.

nearness or close approximation: a fair approach to accuracy.

any means of access, as a road or ramp: the approaches to a city.

the method used or steps taken in setting about a task, problem, etc.: His approach to any problem was to prepare an outline.

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.

Sometimes approaches. a presentation, offer, or proposal.

approaches, Military. works for protecting forces in an advance against a fortified position.

Also called approach shot. Golf. a stroke made after teeing off, by which a player attempts to get the ball onto the putting green.

Bowling.

the steps taken and the manner employed in delivering the ball: He favors a four-step approach.
Also called runway . the area behind the foul line, from which the ball is delivered.

OTHER WORDS FOR approach

1 near, close with.

3 sound out.

See synonyms for approach on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR approach

6 withdraw.

See antonyms for approach on Thesaurus.com

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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-, propinquity

OTHER WORDS FROM approach

ap·proach·er, nounap·proach·less, adjectivere·ap·proach, verbun·ap·proached, adjective

un·ap·proach·ing, adjectivewell-ap·proached, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use approach in a sentence

A potentially game-changing approach to such antiviral drugs involves a type of antiviral drug called a protease inhibitor.
Can This Antiviral Approach Treat COVID-19?|Charu Kasturi|November 19, 2020|Ozy
Service meshes are part of a cloud native, containerized approach to development that enable micro services to communicate with one another.
Solo.io announces service mesh platform aimed at enterprise customers|Ron Miller|November 12, 2020|TechCrunch
This is the same approach used by algorithms that can recommend movies or music.
Computers are changing how art is made|Stephen Ornes|November 12, 2020|Science News For Students
This is a critical part of our approach to research at DeepMind.
AI is wrestling with a replication crisis|Emily Luong|November 12, 2020|MIT Technology Review

Another promising coronavirus vaccine currently being developed by Moderna uses a similar approach.
Pfizer claims its COVID-19 vaccine is 90 percent effective. Here’s what that actually means.|Claire Maldarelli|November 10, 2020|Popular-Science
Limited exogamy with direct maternal or paternal descent, accordingly, means a reapproach to endogamy.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
Retrogression, reapproach to a standpoint to which the race has been long habituated in the past, is easier.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen

British Dictionary definitions for approach

approach

/ (əˈprəʊtʃ) /

verb

to come nearer in position, time, quality, character, etc, to (someone or something)

(tr) to make advances to, as with a proposal, suggestion, etc

(tr) to begin to deal withto approach a problem

(tr) rare to cause to come near

noun

the act of coming towards or drawing close or closer

a close approximation

the way or means of entering or leaving; access

(often plural) an advance or overture to a person

a means adopted in tackling a problem, job of work, etc

Also called: approach path the course followed by an aircraft preparing for landing

Word Origin for approach

C14: from Old French aprochier, from Late Latin appropiāre to draw near, from Latin prope near

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

approach

OTHER WORDS FOR approach

OPPOSITES FOR approach

Origin of approach

OTHER WORDS FROM approach

Words related to approach

How to use approach in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for approach

Word Origin for approach