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The fact that the star closest in proximity to our sun (approximately 4.2 light-years distant) is named Proxima Centauri is no coincidence. The history of proximity hinges on the idea of closeness, both physical and metaphorical. English speakers borrowed the word from Middle French, which in turn acquired it from forms of the Latin adjective proximus, meaning "nearest" or "next." Close relatives of proximity in English include proximal, proximate, and the somewhat more rare approximal (meaning "contiguous"). A number of other languages, including Catalan, Portuguese, and Italian, have similar words that come from the Latin proximus.
Examples of proximity in a Sentence
Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 9 May 2026
The proximity to Piedmont Park and the neighborhood's walkability is part of what draws newcomers to Midtown.
—Irene Wright, USA Today, 9 May 2026
When in a forest, stay in proximity to shorter tree groupings.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 May 2026
For example, the agency hasn't announced whether or not the astronauts will enter the landers while in Earth orbit, or whether Orion will dock with the spacecraft at all, or simply perform proximity operations maneuvers around them.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for proximity
Cite this Entry
“Proximity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proximity. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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proximity
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proximity
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