approximate
adjective
\
Definition of approximate
(Entry 1 of 2)
approximate
verb
\
Definition of approximate (Entry 2 of 2)
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms & Antonyms for approximate
Synonyms: Adjective
almost, comparative, near, relative
Synonyms: Verb
approach, compare (with), measure up (to), stack up (against or with)
Antonyms: Adjective
absolute, complete, downright, out-and-out, outright, perfect, pure, unqualified
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of approximate in a Sentence
Adjective
This is the approximate location of the ancient city. Can you give me the approximate cost of the repair?Verb
I've finally found a vegetarian burger that approximates the taste of real beef. The colors in the pictures can only approximate the real thing. an Australian who can approximate a strong New York City accent
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
The approximate area is marked on the map above, with specific counties indicated by dots. — Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, "Map: Hurricane Dorian evacuations in Florida, Georgia, Carolinas," 4 Sep. 2019 While the number of victims and approximate property damage from Dorian is not immediately known, aid workers said up to 13,000 homes may have already been severely damaged or destroyed, according to CNN. — Claudia Harmata, PEOPLE.com, "Bethenny Frankel Travels to Florida and the Bahamas to Help with Hurricane Dorian Relief," 3 Sep. 2019 Duration is an approximate measure of a bond's sensitivity to interest rate movements. — Ben Carlson, Fortune, "Making Sense of Bond Investing During a Deeply Unusual Year," 23 Aug. 2019 The company will be responsible for digging up 14,000 tons of heavy metal rails and wooden ties, the approximate weight of the Brooklyn Bridge. — John Tuohy, Indianapolis Star, "Rail with trail hopes dashed: Removal of Nickel Plate tracks to begin in 30 days," 1 Aug. 2019 The Préfecture de Police-Police Headquarters-stands upon the approximate site of the gracious Forum, where Roman forces of order were based before our era began. — Bruce Dale, National Geographic, "Adored, neglected, and restored: A 1968 Nat Geo feature explored Notre Dame," 17 Apr. 2019 The black lines, which mark the median values for the land parameter, serves as an approximate coastline. — Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, "Here’s what Earth might look like to aliens," 16 Aug. 2019 The data is analyzed through an algorithm that uses roadway speed limits and vehicle speed limits to calculate approximate travel times from one point to another point along a route. — Kristi Nix, Houston Chronicle, "Missouri City’s new online travel map offers drivers real-time traffic info," 2 Aug. 2019 The expression harks back to days of old, when rulers of the measuring kind were uncommon and people used the length of the thumb from the knuckle to the tip as an approximate measure of one inch — inexact, but better than nothing. — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Weighing the pros and cons of political correctness," 10 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
In fact, offseason and training camp reports have been glowing, providing reasonable hope that Cook can approximate the role Jimmy Graham had in New Orleans. — Des Bieler, chicagotribune.com, "The top fantasy football tight ends to draft in 2019," 15 Aug. 2019 In fact, offseason and training camp reports have been glowing, providing reasonable hope that Cook can approximate the role Jimmy Graham had in New Orleans. — Des Bieler, The Denver Post, "The top fantasy football tight ends to draft in 2019," 15 Aug. 2019 The sport takes BASE jumping—where one jumps from a high point, freefalls, and deploys a parachute—and allows him or her to approximate flight. — National Geographic, "Has the world's deadliest sport become safer? It's complicated.," 21 Aug. 2019 What sinks the movie (rather than the character) are the tortured melodramatics of its backstage plot and dialogue that aims for clever — and sometimes is — but that generally approximates Shakespeare for, like, beginners. — Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Ophelia’ looks at ‘Hamlet’ from a very different perspective," 26 June 2019 And then, too, the times to completion fall along a curve that approximates a lognormal. — Quanta Magazine, "Why Don’t Patients Get Sick in Sync? Modelers Find Statistical Clues," 1 Mar. 2018 Gedanke then approximated each pixel to one of five shades of grey, and figured out which of the digits from 0 to 9 were most like each shade from a distance. — Dave Linkletter, Popular Mechanics, "The Emerging Art of Drawing in Prime Numbers," 9 Aug. 2019 If possible, select a species or variety whose natural shape approximates its intended shape: Densa yew for a low sphere, or Pyramidalis yew for an obelisk, as examples. — Washington Post, "Topiary tips: When you want shrubs to double as sculpture," 30 July 2019 In the original Super Mario Maker, course makers could approximate some of these sub-goals by using existing tools in clever ways (especially after a post-launch update added features like keys and checkpoints). — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Super Mario Maker 2 review: A great sequel, playable on a better console," 26 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'approximate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for approximate
approximate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of approximate
See the full definition for approximate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
approximate