Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Late Latin
Origin: , past participle of approximare 'to come near to', from Latin ad- 'to' + proximare 'to come near'

approximate

1 adjective
     
ap‧prox‧i‧mate1 S3 W3
an approximate number, amount, or time is close to the exact number, amount etc, but could be a little bit more or less than it [= rough; ≠ exact]:
What is the approximate number of students in each class?
These percentages are only approximate.
—approximately adverb:
The plane will be landing in approximately 20 minutes.
How much do think it will cost, approximately?
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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