approximate

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Close to the real number or amount but not exact.

   The approximate cost of the trip is five hundred dollars.

2. 2
   verb

   To estimate or come close to a number or amount.

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

3. 3
   verb

   To be close or similar to something.

   Their test results closely approximate my own.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin proximō Latin approximō Latin approximātusder. Middle English approximat English approximate From Middle English approximat(e) (“close, near (to); similar; intimate”, also used as the past participle of approximaten), from Latin approximātus, the perfect passive participle of approximō (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), further from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + proximō (“to come near”). The noun was derived from the adjective through substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix). See also proximate…

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