Definition of "approximate" []

• Almost exact or correct: the approximate time of the accident. (adjective)
• Very similar; closely resembling: sketched an approximate likeness of the suspect. (adjective)
• Botany Close together but not united. (adjective)
• To come close to; be nearly the same as: This meat substitute approximates the real thing. (verb-transitive)
• To bring near. (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.

• "The term approximate is used above by reason of the fact that no sharps or flats were written until long after this period, but it is thought that they were occasionally interpolated by the singers quite a long time before it became customary to put them into the notation."
• "A couple of weeks ago, Channel 4's Time Team archaeology programme was investigating a Roman mansio, which they described as the approximate equivalent of a motel and wayside inn, in the South of England."
• "The Magic Towns, in approximate order of their date of designation, are:"