approximate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb be close or similar
    come close.
    • Her results approximate my own
  2. verb judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time)
    judge; estimate; guess; gauge.
    • I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds
  3. adjective satellite not quite exact or correct
    approximative; rough.
    • the approximate time was 10 o'clock
    • a rough guess
    • a ballpark estimate
  4. adjective satellite very close in resemblance
    near.
    • sketched in an approximate likeness
    • a near likeness
  5. adjective satellite located close together
    close together.
    • with heads close together
    • approximate leaves grow together but are not united

WordNet

Ap*prox"i*mate adjective
Etymology
L. approximatus, p. p. of approximare to approach; ad + proximare to come near. See Proximate.
Definitions
  1. Approaching; proximate; nearly resembling.
  2. Near correctness; nearly exact; not perfectly accurate; as, approximate results or values.
Ap*prox"i*mate transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Approximated present participle & verbal noun Approximating
Definitions
  1. To carry or advance near; to cause to approach.
    To approximate the inequality of riches to the level of nature. Burke.
  2. To come near to; to approach.
    The telescope approximates perfection. J. Morse.
Ap*prox"i*mate intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To draw; to approach.

Webster 1913