Word.ws English Dictionary

approximates

approximates is the third-person singular simple present indicative of approximate.

Meaning of approximate

Verb

approximate (third-person singular simple present approximates, present participle approximating, simple past and past participle approximated)

  1. (ambitransitive) To estimate.
    • I approximated the value of pi by taking 22 divided by 7.
  2. (transitive) 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
  3. (transitive) 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

See all 7 meanings of approximate

Questions about approximates

What is approximates the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Approximates is the third-person singular simple present indicative of approximate.

Words near approximates in the dictionary

  1. approximate
  2. approximated
  3. approximatedly
  4. approximately
  5. approximateness
  6. approximates
  7. approximatibility
  8. approximating
  9. approximation
  10. approximation algorithm
  11. approximation algorithms

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: approximates (page history and authors); approximate (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.

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