Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - approximate

(approximating, approximated) 1. An approximate number, time, or position is close to the correct number, time, or position, but is not exact. The approximate cost varies from around ?150 to ?250... The times are approximate only. ? exact ADJ • approximately Approximately $150 million is to be spent on improvements. ADV: ADV num 2. An idea or description that is approximate is not intended to be precise or accurate, but to give some indication of what something is like. They did not have even an approximate idea what the Germans really wanted. ADJ 3. If something approximates to something else, it is similar to it but is not exactly the same. Something approximating to a fair outcome will be ensured... By about 6 weeks of age, most babies begin to show something approximating a day/night sleeping pattern. VERB: V to n, V n