approximate

approximate
I UK [əˈprɒksɪmət] / US [əˈprɑksɪmət] adjective
a) not exact, but close to an exact amount, number, time etc

the approximate cost of repairs/time of death

b) not exact or accurate, but good enough to be useful

I can give you an approximate idea of where she lives.


II UK [əˈprɒksɪmeɪt] / US [əˈprɑksɪˌmeɪt] verb
Word forms "approximate":
present tense I/you/we/they approximate he/she/it approximates present participle approximating past tense approximated past participle approximated
1)
a) [intransitive/transitive] formal to be close to a particular number

The crowd approximated 10,000.

approximate to:

This month's results approximated to the average for this season.

b) formal to be similar to something but not exactly the same

This flavour approximates what I remember.

approximate to:

organizations approximating to trade unions

2) [transitive] to calculate something in a way that is not exact

English dictionary. 2014.

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  • approximate — ap‧prox‧i‧mate [əˈprɒksmt ǁ əˈprɑːk ] adjective an approximate amount or number is not exact, but is more or less correct: • an approximate calculation of the overall cost of the project approximately adverb : • Travelling time from London is… …   Financial and business terms

  • approximate — [adj1] almost accurate, exact almost, close, comparative, near, proximate, relative, rough; concept 557 Ant. accurate, clear, definite, exact, precise approximate [adj2] inexact estimated, guessed, imperfect, imprecise, loose, rough, surmised,… …   New thesaurus

  • Approximate — Ap*prox i*mate, a. [L. approximatus, p. p. of approximare to approach; ad + proximare to come near. See {Proximate}.] 1. Approaching; proximate; nearly resembling. [1913 Webster] 2. Near correctness; nearly exact; not perfectly accurate; as,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Approximate — Ap*prox i*mate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Approximated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Approximating}.] 1. To carry or advance near; to cause to approach. [1913 Webster] To approximate the inequality of riches to the level of nature. Burke. [1913 Webster] 2. To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • approximate — I adjective alike, almost, approaching, close, comparable, estimated, imprecise, in the vicinity of, inexact, like, much the same, nearly accurate, nearly correct, nearly equal, nearly perfect, nearly resembling, nigh, not perfectly accurate,… …   Law dictionary

  • Approximate — Ap*prox i*mate, v. i. To draw; to approach. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • approximate — vb *approach, near …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • approximate — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ fairly accurate but not totally precise. ► VERB 1) come close in quality or quantity. 2) estimate fairly accurately. DERIVATIVES approximately adverb approximation noun approximative adjective …   English terms dictionary

  • approximate — [ə präk′sə mit; ] for v. [, ə präk′səmāt΄] adj. [ME < LL approximatus, pp. of approximare, to come near < L ad , to + proximus, superl. of prope, near] 1. near in position; close together 2. much like; resembling 3. more or less correct or… …   English World dictionary

  • approximate — v. (BE) (D; intr.) ( to come near ) to approximate to (to approximate to the truth) * * * [ə prɒksɪmeɪt] (BE) (D; intr.) ( to come near ) to approximate to (to approximate to the truth) apt adf. (cannot stand alone) approximate to + inf. (he is… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • approximate — ap|prox|i|mate1 W3S3 [əˈprɔksımıt US əˈpra:k ] adj [Date: 1400 1500; : Late Latin; Origin: , past participle of approximare to come near to , from Latin ad to + proximare to come near ] an approximate number, amount, or time is close to the exact …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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