What does approximate mean?
Approximate describes something that is close to an exact value, quantity, or description without being precisely so. As an adjective, it qualifies figures, dates, times, and positions that are good enough for practical purposes — 'the approximate cost', 'the approximate distance'. As a verb, it means to come near to a target value or to represent something imperfectly but usefully, as when a model approximates real-world behaviour. Derived from the Latin approximare, meaning 'to draw near', the word carries connotations of pragmatism rather than carelessness: an approximation acknowledges limits of precision while remaining serviceable. It is especially at home in science, engineering, statistics, and everyday estimation, where exactness is impossible or unnecessary. The related adverb approximately is among the most common ways of hedging a number in both casual and formal English, making this word family indispensable wherever honest imprecision matters.
Close to an exact value, amount, time, or position, but not completely accurate.
"Please give me an approximate arrival time so I can plan my day."
Pronounced with stress on the second syllable and an unstressed final syllable: /əˈprɒksɪmət/.
To come near to something in value, quantity, or character; to produce an estimate that is nearly but not exactly correct.
"The model can approximate the temperature curve quite closely over short intervals."
Pronounced with full stress on the final syllable: /əˈprɒksɪmeɪt/.
The same word changes its ending depending on how you use it: as an adjective it ends in a crisp '-mit', but as a verb it stretches into '-mate' — one of English's sneakier spelling shifts.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of approximate
Approximate comes from the Late Latin approximare, meaning 'to bring near' or 'to approach', formed from the prefix ad- plus proximare, derived from proximus, 'nearest'. The word entered English in the early seventeenth century, first appearing in mathematical and scientific contexts where estimation was central. Its Latin root also gave English the words proximity and proximate, which share the same notion of nearness. Over time the term developed both its adjectival sense of 'roughly correct' and its verbal sense of 'to approach in value'.
Related word forms
How approximate is actually used
Note the pronunciation shift between parts of speech: as an adjective the final vowel is unstressed ('AP-prox-i-mit'), while as a verb the last syllable takes full stress ('ap-PROX-i-mayt'). The verb sense carries a slightly formal register and often appears in technical or academic contexts such as mathematics and statistics.
Easily confused with approximate
"Appropriate" means suitable or fitting for a purpose, while "approximate" means close to an actual value or figure.
"Proximate" means nearest or next in order, whereas "approximate" means roughly close but not exact.