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English (UK)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of approximate in English

approximate
adjective
uk
/əˈprɒk.sɪ.mət/ us
/əˈprɑːk.sə.mət/
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B2
not completely accurate but close:
The train's approximate time of arrival is 10.30.
The approximate cost will be about $600.
Can you give me an approximate idea of the numbers involved?
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
approximate
  • approximateWe can only give an approximate number for dinner until all the invited guests have responded.
  • roughThe number of unregistered voters is 13,000, according to rough estimates.
  • inexactHistorical comparisons are always inexact and often misleading.
  • impreciseSuch estimates are inherently imprecise.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Approximate
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approximate
verb [ I + adv/prep, T ]
  formal
uk
/əˈprɒk.sɪ.meɪt/ us
/əˈprɑːk.sə.meɪt/
to be almost the same as:
The newspaper reports of the discussion only roughly approximated to (= were not exactly the same as) what was actually said.
Student numbers this year are expected to approximate 5,000 (= to be about 5,000).
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Guessing, supposing and suspecting
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(Definition of approximate from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

approximate | American Dictionary

approximate
adjective
us
/əˈprɑk·sə·mət/
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almost exact:
Can you tell me the approximate value of this watch?

approximately

adverb us
/əˈprɑk·sə·mət·li/
The job will take approximately three weeks to do.
approximate
verb [ T ]
us
/əˈprɑk·səˌmeɪt/
to come near in quality, amount, value, or character:
The painting only approximated the mountain landscape.

approximation

noun [ C ] us
/əˌprɑk·səˈmeɪ·ʃən/
I only have an approximation of the size of the room.
(Definition of approximate from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

approximate | Business English

approximate
adjective
uk
/əˈprɒksɪmət/ us
( abbreviation approx); (or approx.)
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close to a particular number or time but not exactly that number or time:
All numbers are approximate.
the approximate amount/cost/number The final resulting figure is the approximate amount for which the home should be insured.
approximate
verb [ I or T ]
uk
/əˈprɒksɪmeɪt/ us
to be close to a particular number or time but not exactly that number or time:
Compound annual earnings growth has approximated 90%.
approximate to sth To secure the company, it is having to pay a price approximating to half its present market capitalization.
(Definition of approximate from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of approximate

approximate
An advantage of such constructive approaches is that they may suggest algorithmic approaches for approximating the resulting integral.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The goal is to find the simplest possible algorithm that approximates the observed results.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The age distribution for migrants approximated a normal distribution and the ages of positive migrant individuals was not significantly different from this distribution.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
An ontology indirectly reflects this commitment (and the underlying conceptualization) by approximating these intended models.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The actors are happy with their scripts, and the performances themselves tend to lead to something approximating 'optimal challenge'.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Alternatively, the information can be summarized, approximated or otherwise processed on its way up the tree to reduce the information load.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Of course, supplementary variables can be continuous, but they can be approximated by variables with a phase-type distribution.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The parameterisation concerns the generalised coordinates that are approximated using cubic splines.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The biped joint coordinates are approximated by cubic splines functions connected at uniformly distributed knots along the motion time.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The mass distribution is approximated by two stations at either end of the link.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
A series of universes increasingly approximates biological paradise.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The curve approaches a plateau value which approximates the absolute percentage of the merozoites which were invasive at the start of the invasion assay.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The version discussed is the classical version of this mechanism, assuming that the fixed charges are distributed and can be approximated as a smeared layer.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
However, the total scattered distribution f s is not very well approximated by f in shape at early times nor in amplitude at all times !
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Ensembles are probably the class of algorithms which best approximates our conditions for adjudication.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
See all examples of approximate
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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Translations of approximate

in Chinese (Traditional)
大致的，大約的，大概的, 接近，近似…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
大致的，大约的，大概的, 接近，近似…
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in Spanish
aproximado, aproximarse a, aproximado/da [masculine-feminine]…
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in Portuguese
aproximado, aproximar-se de, aproximado/-da [masculine-feminine]…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
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in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
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अंदाजे, साधारणतः…
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おおよその, 概算の, （数値などが）近づく…
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yaklaşık, hemen hemen, bir şeye hemen hemen tam olarak benzemek…
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approximatif/-ive, approximatif, se rapprocher (de)…
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aproximat, aproximar-se a…
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bij benadering, benaderen…
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முற்றிலும் துல்லியமாக இல்லை, ஆனால் ஓரளவிற்கு நெருக்கமாக…
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अनुमानित…
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અંદાજિત, લગભગ…
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omtrentlig, cirka-, ligne…
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ungefärlig, ungefär…
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hampir tepat, hampir menyerupai…
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ungefähr, ähneln…
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omtrentlig, tilnærmet, ca.…
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приблизний, наближений, наближатися…
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దాదాపు…
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আনুমানিক, সম্পূর্ণ সঠিক নয় কিন্তু কাছাকাছি…
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přibližný, blížit se…
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hampir tepat, kira-kira, kurang lebih…
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ใกล้เคียง, โดยประมาณ, คล้ายคลึง…
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gần đúng, gần giống với…
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przybliżony, być zbliżonym do, przybliżać…
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대충의, 비슷하다, 가깝다…
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approssimato, approssimarsi, approssimativo…
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Word of the Day

smooth something over

UK
/smuːð/
US
/smuːð/

to make problems, difficulties, or disagreements less serious or easier to solve, usually by talking to the people involved

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