ap ‧ prox ‧ i ‧ ma ‧ tion AC /əˌprɒksəˈmeɪʃ ə n, əˌprɒksɪˈmeɪʃ ə n $ əˌprɑːk-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ approximate ; noun : ↑ approximation ; adverb : ↑ approximately ; adjective : ↑ approximate ]
1 . a number, amount etc that is not exact, but is almost correct SYN estimate
approximation of
an approximation of the total
a rough/crude approximation (=one that is not very exact)
Could you give us a rough approximation of the cost?
a good/close/reasonable approximation
2 . something that is similar to another thing, but not exactly the same
approximation of/to
It was the nearest approximation to a crisis she’d ever experienced.