Etymology From Middle English approximat(e) (“close, near (to); similar; intimate”, also used as the past participle of approximaten), from Latin approximātus, the perfect passive participle of approximō (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), further from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + proximō (“to come near”). The noun was derived from the adjective through substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix). See also proximate. By surface analysis, ap- + proximate.
1
Approaching; proximate; nearly resembling.
2
Nearing correctness; nearly exact; not perfectly accurate.
approximate results or values
NASA’s Genesis spacecraft has on board an ion monitor to record the speed, density, temperature and approximate composition of the solar wind ions.
3
Biology, Botany, Natural sciences Drawn close together, but not united.
Etymology From Middle English approximat(e) (“close, near (to); similar; intimate”, also used as the past participle of approximaten), from Latin approximātus, the perfect passive participle of approximō (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), further from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + proximō (“to come near”). The noun was derived from the adjective through substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix). See also proximate. By surface analysis, ap- + proximate.
Etymology From Middle English approximaten (“to bring, put close (to)”), from approximat(e) (“close, near (to); similar; intimate”, also used as the past participle of approximaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin approximātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
1
Ambitransitive To estimate.
I approximated the value of pi by taking 22 divided by 7.
As yet, we don't know what the comparable figures will be like for the current financial year which ends in March 2022, but we can have a good stab at approximating them.2022 January 12, Sir Michael Holden, “Reform of the workforce or death by a thousand cuts?”, in RAIL, number 948, page 22:
2
To come near to; to approach.
When you follow two separate chains of thought, Watson, you will find some point of intersection which should approximate to the truth.1911, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax:
The telescope approximates perfection.1802, Jedidiah Morse, The American Universal Geography:
3
To carry or advance near; to cause to approach.
to approximate the inequality of riches to the level of nature1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC: