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 approximationApproximately [=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.
Examples of approximately in a Sentence
it takes approximately three hours to drive to Dallas
Recent Examples on the Web
Another man had been shot in the chest approximately 24 hours earlier, a few blocks away, but survived his injuries.
—Tom Olsen, Twin Cities, 14 Jan. 2026
Few authors are better equipped to address these questions than the Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard, who made a name for himself by alchemizing his private life into approximately 3,500 pages of literary voyeurism and stamping it with the name of Hitler’s manifesto.
—Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
Wasserman, during the presentation, said that out of the Games’ estimated 14 million tickets, approximately 1 million will sell for $28 and that roughly a third of tickets would be under $100.
—Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 14 Jan. 2026
In addition, the project will create enough energy to power approximately 24,000 homes annually and remove approximately 127,000 metric tons of carbon per year, according to the project site plan.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Approximately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/approximately. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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