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# approximate

«approximate» in Mova's school dictionary: **Close to the exact number or amount, but not exactly it** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (approximate); verb (approximate, approximates, approximated, approximating); adverb approximately

### meaning for a pupil

1) (adjective) Close to the exact number or amount, but not exactly it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#m1)

2) (verb) To make a close guess or estimate of an amount. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#m2)

3) (verb, formal) To come close to or be nearly like something. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

Very common in maths: an approximate answer is rounded or estimated (about 500, roughly 3.14). The sign ≈ means «is approximately equal to». In science, approximate measurements. In everyday life, approximate times and prices. Phrases: «approximate value», «approximate answer», «approximately equal to», «give an approximate».

### examples

- The approximate distance to the beach is 5 kilometres. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#x1)
- Give an approximate answer by rounding to the nearest ten. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#x2)
- The approximate time of arrival is noon. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#x3)
- Pi is approximately 3.14. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#x4)
- Approximate 48 + 31 by rounding first. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#x5)
- The crowd was approximately 2,000 people. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#x6)
- This drawing only approximates the real shape. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/#x7)

### note

Pronunciation differs: adjective ends «-mut» (a-PROX-i-mut), verb ends «-mate» (a-PROX-i-mate). In maths: an approximate number is not wrong, just not exact; words like «about», «roughly», «around», «nearly» signal rounding. Symbol ≈.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «approximate» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/approximate/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.