Word.ws English Dictionary

approximant

UK/əˈpɹɒksɪmənt//əˈpɹɑksəmənt/

approximant noun: a consonant sound made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract, while still allowing a smooth flow of air. Liquids and glides are approximants.

Noun

approximant (plural approximants)

  1. A consonant sound made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract, while still allowing a smooth flow of air. Liquids and glides are approximants.
  2. An approximation to the solution of a function, series, etc.

approximant meaning in Bengali, Tagalog and Persian

approximant in Bengali

approximant, semivowel letter
অন্তঃস্থ বর্ণ ontoḥstho borno
approximant, semivocalic
অন্তঃস্থ ontoḥstho

approximant in Tagalog

consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract
malapatinig

approximant in Persian

consonant made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract
ناسوده nâsude

Forms of approximant

pluralapproximants

Origin of approximant

From Latin approximāns. In the phonetics sense first used by Peter Ladefoged, the mathematical concept is attributed to Paul Halmos.

Words formed from approximant

Questions about approximant

What does approximant mean?
Approximant means a consonant sound made by slightly narrowing the vocal tract, while still allowing a smooth flow of air. Liquids and glides are approximants.
What is approximant in Bengali?
Approximant in Bengali is অন্তঃস্থ বর্ণ (ontoḥstho borno), অন্তঃস্থ (ontoḥstho). See Approximant meaning in Bengali.
What part of speech is approximant?
Approximant is a noun.
How do you pronounce approximant?
Approximant is pronounced /əˈpɹɑksəmənt/ (US).
What is the plural of approximant?
The plural of approximant is approximants.

Words near approximant in the dictionary

  1. approximable
  2. approximal
  3. approximally
  4. approximand
  5. approximands
  6. approximant
  7. approximants
  8. approximatable
  9. approximate
  10. approximated
  11. approximatedly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: approximant (page history and authors); অন্তঃস্থ (Bengali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-approximant.ogg.

Cite this entry: “approximant.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/approximant. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.