approximately

adverb

ap·​prox·​i·​mate·​ly ə-ˈpräk-sə-mət-lē 

: in an approximate manner

an event in ancient history that can only be approximately dated

—used to indicate that a stated number, amount, or value is an approximation

Approximately [=around, about] 2,000 people attended the rally.

arrived at approximately 11:30 in the morning

During a lifetime, a person will take approximately 500 million breaths.

—Arthur S. Slutsky, M.D., et al.

Synonyms

• about
• around
• like
• more or less
• much
• near
• plus or minus
• roughly
• say
• some

Examples of approximately in a Sentence

it takes approximately three hours to drive to Dallas

Recent Examples on the Web

Lauren Blackburn, 23, was last seen on Saturday, April 19, at approximately 6 p.m. local time, according to a Tiger Alert emailed to students on Tuesday, April 22. —Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 23 Apr. 2025

Thus far this year, there have been approximately 13,255 cases and 488 deaths, according to Dr. Indrajit Hazarika, a physician and public-health practitioner who is the World Health Organization’s Country Representative for Angola. —Mark Kortepeter, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025

The worst accident in Brazil’s aviation history At approximately 6:48 p.m. —Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 23 Apr. 2025

The Hagia Sophia receives an average of around 50,000 visitors daily and approximately 6-7 million annually, according to Istanbul Deputy Akturkoglu. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Associated Press and Danuta Hamlin of Fox News contributed to this report. —Ashley J. Dimella Fox News, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1742, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for approximately

• proximately

Kids Definition

approximately

adverb

ap·​prox·​i·​mate·​ly

-mət-lē

: reasonably close to

approximately 5 miles

at approximately six o'clock