VocabauraVOCABAURA

approximate

verb · adjective

Simple meaning

To come near to.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhprahksuhmuht

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

əpˈɹɑksəmət

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To come near to; to approach.

  2. transitive

    To carry or advance near; to cause to approach.

adjective

  1. Nearing correctness; nearly exact; not perfectly accurate.

  2. Approaching; proximate; nearly resembling.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To come near to; to approach.

Used this way, approximate is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use approximate

  • “Her results approximate my own.”verb

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “approximate”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

approximate valueapproximate solutionapproximate numberapproximate dateclosely approximateapproximate methodapproximate costapproximate location

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • approximatelyadverbDerived adverb

    Imprecise but fairly close to correct.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • approximationnounRelated term

    An approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: to come near to

near

adjective

Sense: nearing correctness

close

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “approximate” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.