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Definition of "approach" []

  • To come near or nearer, as in space or time: Spring approaches. (verb-intransitive)
  • Sports To make an approach, as in golf. (verb-intransitive)
  • To come or go near or nearer to: approached the tunnel. (verb-transitive)
  • To come close to, as in appearance, quality, or condition; approximate: The performance approaches perfection. (verb-transitive)
  • To make a proposal or overtures to with a specific end in view: approached the administration for a raise. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "approach" in a sentence
  • "Paintings from the National Gallery's collections, including a "Judith With the Head of Holofernes," attributed to Mantegna, and a portrait of a Venetian gentleman on which Giorgione and the young Titian both worked, at once suggest the currency of Tullio's distinctive approach in the early cinquecento and how that ­approach was formed."
  • "Laura Ling's sister, Lisa Ling, told CNN Friday night that she feels the change in approach is significant, and could aid negotiations for the women's freedom."
  • "The guiding principle of a spreading-oil-stain approach is that it allows the counterinsurgent force to concentrate in part of the country and then slowly pacify the rest, using time to substitute for numbers."