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Wiktionary

approximate

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective
Verb

Adjective

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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

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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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.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Latin

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Verb

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approximāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of approximō
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