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

• roughly
• about
• around

Examples of approximately in a Sentence

it takes approximately three hours to drive to Dallas

Recent Examples on the Web

To put this into perspective, while CORONA photographed approximately 590 million square miles of the earth’s surface during its entire multiyear run, Planet photographs 186 million square miles every day. —Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025

The covered wedge-like heel, measuring approximately seven inches, is a sight to behold and gave the actress a major boost in height. —Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2025

According to data from Kayak, overall travel costs are trending slightly lower than last year, with average flight prices down approximately 2 percent, hotel rates down 3 percent, and rental car prices down 8 percent. —Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 Oct. 2025

Each sclerite is approximately a tenth of a millimeter long. —Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 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