approximate

English

Alternative forms

• approx. (abbreviation, also for adverb approximately)

Etymology

From Latin approximatus, past participle of approximare (“to approach”); ad + proximare (“to come near”). See proximate.

Pronunciation

Adjective

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈpɹɒk.sɪ.mət/
• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈpɹɑk.sə.mət/, /əˈpɹɑk.sɪ.mət/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈpɹɒk.sɪ.meɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈpɹɑk.sə.meɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

approximate (comparative more approximate, superlative most approximate)

1. Approaching; proximate; nearly resembling.
2. Nearing correctness; nearly exact; not perfectly accurate.

   approximate results or values

   NASA’s Genesis spacecraft has on board an ion monitor to record the speed, density, temperature and approximate composition of the solar wind ions.

Synonyms

• close

Antonyms

• exact, precise

Derived terms

• approximately
• approximateness
• approximation
• approximative
• approximeeting

 

Translations

approaching; proximate; nearly resembling

• Bulgarian: приблизи́телен (bg) (priblizítelen)
• Catalan: aproximat (ca)
• Czech: přibližný
• Danish: nær
• Dutch: benaderend (nl)
• Finnish: likimääräinen (fi), läheinen (fi)
• French: approximant (fr)
• German: annähernd (de), ungefähr (de), zirka (de), circa (de)
• Greek: παραπλήσιος (el) (paraplísios)
• Malayalam: ഏകദേശ (ēkadēśa), ഏകദേശമായ (ēkadēśamāya)
• Portuguese: aproximado (pt)
• Spanish: aproximado (es)
• Tagalog: madapit
• Welsh: bras (cy)

near correctness; nearly exact; not perfectly accurate;

• Arabic: تَقْرِيبِيّ (taqrībiyy)
• Armenian: մոտավոր (hy) (motavor)
• Azerbaijani: təxmini, təqribi
• Belarusian: прыблі́зны (pryblízny)
• Bulgarian: приблизи́телен (bg) (priblizítelen)
• Catalan: aproximat (ca)
• Czech: přibližný
• Danish: omtrentlig
• Dutch: ongeveer (nl), bij benadering
• Finnish: arvioitu (fi), likiarvoinen (fi), likimääräinen (fi), suuntaa antava
• French: approximatif (fr)
• German: annähernd (de), ungefähr (de), zirka (de), circa (de)
• Greek: χονδρικός (el) (chondrikós)
• Hungarian: megközelítő (hu), hozzávetőleges (hu), körülbelüli (hu)
• Italian: approssimativo (it), approssimato (it)
• Macedonian: приближен (približen)
• Malayalam: ഏകദേശ (ēkadēśa)
• Maori: āwhiwhiwhi, āwhiwhi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: omtrentlig

  Nynorsk: omtrentleg

• Polish: przybliżony (pl)
• Portuguese: aproximado (pt)
• Russian: приблизи́тельный (ru) (priblizítelʹnyj), приме́рный (ru) (primérnyj), прибли́женный (ru) (priblížennyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: при́ближан

  Roman: príbližan (sh)

• Slovak: približný
• Slovene: približen
• Spanish: aproximado (es)
• Swedish: ungefärlig (sv), approximativ (sv)
• Tagalog: madapit
• Ukrainian: прибли́зний (pryblýznyj)
• Vietnamese: xấp xỉ (vi), xêm xêm (vi)
• Welsh: bras (cy)

Verb

approximate (third-person singular simple present approximates, present participle approximating, simple past and past participle approximated)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To estimate.

   I approximated the value of pi by taking 22 divided by 7.

   • 2022 January 12, Sir Michael Holden, “Reform of the workforce or death by a thousand cuts?”, in RAIL, number 948, page 22:

     As yet, we don't know what the comparable figures will be like for the current financial year which ends in March 2022, but we can have a good stab at approximating them.

2. (transitive) To come near to; to approach.
   • 1911, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax:

     When you follow two separate chains of thought, Watson, you will find some point of intersection which should approximate to the truth.

   • 1802, Jedidiah Morse, The American Universal Geography:

     The telescope approximates perfection.

3. (transitive) To carry or advance near; to cause to approach.
   • 1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC:

     to approximate the inequality of riches to the level of nature

Derived terms

• approximable
• overapproximate
• reapproximate
• underapproximate

 

Translations

to carry or advance near; to cause to approach

• Bulgarian: приближавам се до (približavam se do)
• Danish: nærme, tilnærme
• Finnish: lähentää (fi)
• French: approximer (fr)
• German: annähern (de)
• Greek: προσεγγίζω (el) (prosengízo), πλησιάζω (el) (plisiázo)
• Portuguese: aproximar (pt)
• Spanish: avanzar (es), acercar (es), juntar (es), estrechar (es)

to come near to; to approach

• Bulgarian: приближавам се до (približavam se do)
• Danish: nærme, tilnærme
• Finnish: lähentyä (fi), lähestyä (fi)
• French: approximer (fr)
• German: annähern (de), annähernd erreichen
• Greek: προσεγγίζω (el) (prosengízo), πλησιάζω (el) (plisiázo)
• Maori: āwhiwhiwhi, whakatata
• Portuguese: aproximar-se
• Spanish: acercarse (es), aproximarse (es)

to estimate

• Finnish: arvioida (fi), approksimoida (fi), estimoida (fi)
• Greek: προσεγγίζω (el) (prosengízo)
• Hebrew: לשער (Leshaer)
• Maori: whakaawhiwhi, whakaāwhiwhiwhi
• Polish: aproksymować impf, zaproksymować pf
• Portuguese: aproximar (pt)
• Russian: приближаться (ru) (približatʹsja), почти равняться (počti ravnjatʹsja)
• Spanish: estimar (es)

Latin

Verb

approximāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of approximō