approximate
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 →
2) (verb) To make a close guess or estimate of an amount. tree →
3) (verb, formal) To come close to or be nearly like something. tree →
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 →
- Give an approximate answer by rounding to the nearest ten. tree →
- The approximate time of arrival is noon. tree →
- Pi is approximately 3.14. tree →
- Approximate 48 + 31 by rounding first. tree →
- The crowd was approximately 2,000 people. tree →
- This drawing only approximates the real shape. tree →
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, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.