approximate²

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /əˈpɹɑk.sə.meɪt/ UK /əˈpɹɒk.sɪ.meɪt/ See IPA manual

verb

Audio for this pronunciation isn’t available yet.

Homographs: approximate¹ /əˈpɹɑk.sə.mət/ — adj

Pronunciation and word origins: Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Freq #23486

Meanings

1

verb
To estimate or come close to a number or amount.

I approximated the value of pi as 22 divided by 7.
2

verb
To be close or similar to something.

Their test results closely approximate my own.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to estimate or come close... estimate

2 verb · to be close or similar to... come close

Etymology

From Middle English approximaten (“to bring, put close (to)”), from approximat(e) (“close, near (to); similar; intimate”, also used as the past participle of approximaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin approximātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

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