INDEX:
1. approximately a number or amount
2. approximately a large number or amount
3. at approximately a particular time or date
4. approximately correct
5. a number or amount that is approximately right
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ EXACT/NOT EXACT
see also
↑ GUESS
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1. approximately a number or amount
▷ about /əˈbaʊt/ [adverb]
a little more or a little less than a number, amount, distance, or time :
▪ It should cost about $1500.
▪ The church is about a mile away.
▪ It’s been about five years since I’ve seen Linda.
▪ The chance of men being born colourblind is about 1 in 12.
▷ approximately /əˈprɒksɪmətli, əˈprɒksəmətliǁəˈprɑːk-/ [adverb]
a little more or a little less than a number, amount, distance, or time. Approximately is a little more formal than about and is used especially in written English :
▪ Approximately 30% of the community is Polish.
▪ Each disk stores approximately 144 pages of text.
▷ roughly /ˈrʌfli/ [adverb]
approximately - used especially when you are trying to give someone a general idea of the number or amount :
▪ A new kitchen would cost roughly $6,000.
▪ The man was roughly my own age.
▪ There were roughly 50 people there.
▷ or so /ɔːʳ ˈsəʊ/ [adverb]
3 days/a minute/fifteen people etc or so
approximately 3 days, a minute etc, or perhaps even more :
▪ The baby usually sleeps for an hour or so after breakfast.
▪ He suggested that I take a week or so off work.
▪ There must be thirty people or so in the class.
▷ odd /ɒdǁɑːd/ [adverb] informal spoken
a hundred/forty/thirty etc odd
use this after numbers in tens, hundreds, or thousands :
▪ ‘How old do you think he is?’ ‘Oh, I don’t know. Seventy odd.’
▪ It’s been 30 odd years since I last saw him.
▷ give or take /ˌgɪv ɔːʳ ˈteɪk/ [adverb] spoken
give or take a few miles/a couple of minutes/a pound etc
use this when saying approximately what a number or amount is, when it may be a few miles more or less, a few minutes more or less etc :
▪ The village is about fifty miles north of here, give or take a few miles.
▪ He’s said to be worth $26 million, give or take a few million.
▪ ‘How long will the meeting last?’ ‘A couple of hours, give or take.’
▷ at a guess /ət ə ˈges/ [adverb] spoken
approximately, especially when you do not know the correct number or amount and are guessing what it is :
▪ At a guess, I’d say around 3000 people took part in the demonstration.
▪ It was a cold night. About two or three degrees at a guess.
▪ ‘How much will it cost?’ ‘A hundred and twenty pounds, at a guess.’
2. approximately a large number or amount
▷ something/somewhere in the region of /ˌsʌmθɪŋ, ˌsʌmweər ɪn ðə ˈriːdʒ ə n ɒv/ [adverb]
▪ The business is worth something in the region of $25m.
▪ The universe is estimated to be somewhere in the region of eleven billion years old.
▪ A typical price would be somewhere in the region of £2,500 per person.
▷ something like /ˈsʌmθɪŋ laɪk/ spoken :
▪ Smith is already something like $10,000 in debt.
▪ In the USA something like 4000 such accidents occur each year.
▷ an estimated /ən ˈestə̇meɪtə̇d/ [adjective phrase]
an estimated 3000 people/one million pounds/90% of profits etc
approximately that number or amount - use this when you have no exact or detailed figures on which to calculate the exact number :
▪ The event was seen on television by an estimated 250 million people worldwide.
▪ An estimated 10% of new mothers suffer from severe depression.
▪ By the end of the month an estimated 1000 people had been killed and 42,000 left homeless.
▷ some /s ə m, strong sʌm/ [adverb]
some 100 people/50 years/2000 establishments etc
approximately that number or amount - use this especially when you think it is impressive or surprising :
▪ Among the 11 factory sites across Europe, some 2,600 jobs are to be eliminated this year.
▪ He lectured at the Institut Pasteur for some 50 years.
▷ or more /ɔːʳ ˈmɔːʳ/ [adverb]
5000 people/20%/9 days etc or more
use this when the total may be a lot more, and you want to emphasize that this is a large number or amount :
▪ How can you be tired? You slept for ten hours or more last night.
▪ There were a thousand or more fans at the airport to welcome the band.
3. at approximately a particular time or date
▷ about also around /əˈbaʊt, əˈraʊnd/ [adverb] especially American
a little later or a little earlier than a particular time or date :
▪ It’s two-thirty. They should be arriving about now.
▪ The cathedral was completed in about the middle of the 16th century.
▪ About six months ago he suffered a major heart attack.
▪ I picked Sue up around eight o' clock.
▪ I don’t remember the exact date of the party, but it must have been around the first of December.
round about
especially British
▪ He left the house round about four o'clock.
▪ The job should be finished round about March next year.
▷ approximately /əˈprɒksɪmətli, əˈprɒksəmətliǁəˈprɑːk-/ [adverb]
a little later or a little earlier than a particular time or date. Approximately is a little more formal than about or around and is used especially in written English :
▪ The gate will close approximately two minutes before the train leaves.
▪ Tours start approximately every 15-20 minutes in summer.
▷ some time /ˌsʌm ˈtaɪm/ [adverb]
some time after/before/around/between/in etc
at a time in the past - use this when you do not know exactly when or it is not important exactly when :
▪ The burglary must have happened some time after 8:00 p.m.
▪ His third symphony was written some time between 1750 and 1753.
▪ The clinic was closed some time in the early nineties.
▷ or thereabouts /ɔːʳ ˌðe ə rəˈbaʊts/
at 10 o'clock or thereabouts/in the 1950s or thereabouts etc
use this after a time, date etc that is not exact, especially when it is not important to know the exact time, date etc :
▪ They’re old apartments, built in the 1930s or thereabouts.
▪ The book will be published in May or thereabouts.
▷ circa /ˈsɜːʳkə/ [preposition]
circa 1920/1850/1492 etc
use this when you are saying when something happened in history :
▪ The manuscripts date from circa 400 B.C.
▪ a Robert Adam mansion, built circa 1778
▪ The picture shows Tsar Nicholas, circa 1914.
4. approximately correct
▷ roughly /ˈrʌfli/ [adverb]
▪ Yes, that’s roughly the right answer.
▪ As long as you know roughly how to do it, that’s fine.
▷ more or less /ˌmɔːr ɔːʳ ˈles◂/ [adverb]
if something is more or less correct, it is good or correct enough to be accepted even if it is not perfect :
▪ What she says is more or less true.
▪ ‘Did they have what you were looking for at the hardware store?’ ‘Yes, more or less.’
▷ kind of/sort of /ˈkaɪnd əv,ˈsɔːʳt əv/ informal spoken
said when you think something is approximately right or true, but not exactly :
▪ It’s kind of circular-shaped, but not exactly.
▪ ‘Did you finish your homework?’ ‘Well, sort of.’
▷ be in the right ballpark /biː ɪn ðə ˌraɪt ˈbɔːlpɑːk/ [verb phrase] informal
if you are in the right ballpark, what you have guessed is not exactly correct, but is close to being correct :
▪ ‘I’d think a project like this would take at least five years to complete.’ ‘Not quite as long as that, but you’re in the right ballpark.’
5. a number or amount that is approximately right
▷ approximate /əˈprɒksɪmət, əˈprɒksəmətǁəˈprɑːk-/ [adjective]
▪ The measurements are approximate, but I think they’ll do.
▪ An expert could give you the approximate value of the painting.
▪ Approximate journey time to London is four hours.
▷ rough /rʌf/ [adjective only before noun]
rough guess/calculation/estimate/indication
approximately correct, and therefore not to be used for detailed or important work :
▪ The report should give you a rough indication of the company’s stock market performance over the past year.
▪ I’d say that the whole thing would cost you around $1000, but that’s just a rough estimate.
▷ ballpark figure /ˈbɔːlpɑːʳk ˌfɪgəʳǁ-ˌfɪgjər/ [countable noun]
a number or amount that is approximately correct - used especially in business :
▪ A ballpark figure for the cost of the construction is $4.5 million.
▪ A firm price hasn’t been set yet, but the ballpark figure under discussion is $3 million.
give somebody a ballpark figure
▪ Could you give me a ballpark figure?
▷ approximation /əˌprɒksɪˈmeɪʃ ə n, əˌprɒksəˈmeɪʃ ə nǁəˌprɑːk-/ [countable noun] formal
a number or amount that is approximately correct :
a reasonable approximation
▪ Five thousand dollars seems to be a reasonable approximation of the actual cost.