Definitions for approach
əˈproʊtʃap·proach

Princeton's WordNet(3.60 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. approach, attack, plan of attacknoun

   ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation

   "his approach to every problem is to draw up a list of pros and cons"; "an attack on inflation"; "his plan of attack was misguided"

2. approach, approaching, comingnoun

   the act of drawing spatially closer to something

   "the hunter's approach scattered the geese"

3. access, approachnoun

   a way of entering or leaving

   "he took a wrong turn on the access to the bridge"

4. approach path, approach, glide path, glide slopenoun

   the final path followed by an aircraft as it is landing

5. approach, approachingnoun

   the event of one object coming closer to another

6. overture, advance, approach, feelernoun

   a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others

   "she rejected his advances"

7. approach, approaching, comingnoun

   the temporal property of becoming nearer in time

   "the approach of winter"

8. approachnoun

   a close approximation

   "the nearest approach to genius"

9. approach, approach shotverb

   a relatively short golf shot intended to put the ball onto the putting green

   "he lost the hole when his approach rolled over the green"

10. approach, near, come on, go up, draw near, draw close, come nearverb

    move towards

    "We were approaching our destination"; "They are drawing near"; "The enemy army came nearer and nearer"

11. border on, approachverb

    come near or verge on, resemble, come nearer in quality, or character

    "This borders on discrimination!"; "His playing approaches that of Horowitz"

12. set about, go about, approachverb

    begin to deal with

    "approach a task"; "go about a difficult problem"; "approach a new project"

13. approach, come nearverb

    come near in time

    "Winter is approaching"; "approaching old age"

14. approachverb

    make advances to someone, usually with a proposal or suggestion

    "I was approached by the President to serve as his adviser in foreign matters"

GCIDE(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Approachnoun

   (Aviation) that part of a flight during which an airplane descends toward the landing strip.

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. approachnoun

   The act of drawing near; a coming or advancing near.

2. approachnoun

   An access, or opportunity of drawing near.

3. approachnoun

   Movements to gain favor; advances.

4. approachnoun

   A way, passage, or avenue by which a place or buildings can be approached; an access.

5. approachnoun

   A manner in which a problem is solved or policy is made.

6. approachnoun

   The advanced works, trenches, or covered roads made by besiegers in their advances toward a fortress or military post.

7. approachnoun

   A stroke whose object is to land the ball on the putting green. It is made with an iron club.

8. approachnoun

   The way an aircraft lands at an airport.

9. approachnoun

   The area before the lane, in which a player may stand or run up before bowling the ball.

10. approachverb

    To come or go near, in place or time; to draw nigh; to advance nearer.

11. approachverb

    To draw near, in a figurative sense; to make advances; to approximate.

    as he approaches to the character of the ablest statesman.

12. approachverb

    To come near to in place, time, character or value; to draw nearer to.

13. approachverb

    To make an attempt at (solving a problem or making a policy).

14. approachverb

    To speak to, as to make a request or ask a question.

15. approachverb

    To take approaches to.

16. Etymology: From approchen, aprochen, aprochier, appropiare, from ad + propiare, from.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Approachnoun

   Etymology: from the verb.

   1. The act of drawing near.

   If I could bid the seventh welcome with so good heart as I can bid the other five farewel, I should be glad of his approach. William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice.

   ’Tis with our souls
   As with our eyes, that after a long darkness
   Are dazzled at th’ approach of sudden light. John Denham, Sophy.

   2. Access.

   Honour hath in it the vantage ground to do good; the approach to kings and principal persons; and the raising of a man’s own fortunes. Francis Bacon, Essays.

   3. Hostile advance.

   For England his approaches makes as fierce
   As waters to the sucking of a gulph. William Shakespeare, Henry V.

   4. Means of advancing.

   Against beleagur’d heav’n the giants move,
   Hills pil’d on hills, on mountains mountains lie,
   To make their mad approaches to the sky. John Dryden, Ovid.

2. To Approachverb

   To bring near to. This sense is rather French than English.

   This they will nimbly perform, if objected to the extremes, but slowly and not at all, if approached unto their roots. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours, b. iii. c. 20.

   By plunging paper thoroughly in weak spirit of wine, and approaching it to a candle, the spirituous parts will burn, without harming the paper. Boyle.

   Approach’d, and looking underneath the sun,
   He saw proud Arcite. John Dryden, Fables.

3. To APPROACHverb

   Etymology: approcher, Fr.

   1. To draw near locally.

   ’Tis time to look about: the powers of the kingdom approach apace. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   We suppose Ulysses approaching toward Polypheme. Notes on Odyssey.

   2. To draw near, as time.

   Hark! I hear the sound of coaches,
   The hour of attack approaches. John Gay, Beggar’s Opera.

   3. To make a progress towards, in the figurative sense, as mentally.

   He shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? Jer. xxx. 21.

   He was an admirable poet, and thought even to have approached . William Temple, Miscellanies.

   To have knowledge in all the objects of contemplation, is what the mind can hardly attain unto; the instances are few of those who have, in any measure, approached towards it. John Locke.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Approachverb

   to come or go near, in place or time; to draw nigh; to advance nearer

2. Approachverb

   to draw near, in a figurative sense; to make advances; to approximate; as, he approaches to the character of the ablest statesman

3. Approachverb

   to bring near; to cause to draw near; to advance

4. Approachverb

   to come near to in place, time, or character; to draw nearer to; as, to approach the city; to approach my cabin; he approached the age of manhood

5. Approachverb

   to take approaches to

6. Approachverb

   the act of drawing near; a coming or advancing near

7. Approachverb

   a access, or opportunity of drawing near

8. Approachverb

   movements to gain favor; advances

9. Approachverb

   a way, passage, or avenue by which a place or buildings can be approached; an access

10. Approachverb

    the advanced works, trenches, or covered roads made by besiegers in their advances toward a fortress or military post

11. Approachverb

    see Approaching

12. Etymology: [OE. approchen, aprochen, OF. approcher, LL. appropriare, fr. L. ad + propiare to draw near, prope near.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Approach

   ap-prōch′, v.i. to draw near: to draw nigh (of time or events): to come near in quality, condition, &c.: (arch.) to come into personal relations with a person.—v.t. to come near to: to resemble: attain to: to bring near in any sense.—n. a drawing near to in military attack, in personal relations: access: a path or avenue: approximation: (pl.) trenches, &c., by which besiegers strive to reach a fortress.—n. Approachabi′lty.—adj. Approach′able. [O. Fr. aprochier, Low L. adpropiare—L. ad, to, prope, near.]

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. approach

   The route by which a fortified place or military position can be approached by an attacking force.

Matched Categories

1. • Address
   • Flight Path
   • Similarity
   • Traffic Pattern
   • Way

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'approach' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #652

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'approach' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1436

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'approach' in Nouns Frequency: #221

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'approach' in Verbs Frequency: #297

How to pronounce approach?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say approach in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of approach in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of approach in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of approach in a Sentence

1. Sarah Wootton:

   I would live my life as ever to the full and die, before the disease mounted its last attack, in my own home, in a chair on the lawn, with a brandy in my hand to wash down whatever modern version of the Brompton Cocktail some helpful medic could supply. And with Thomas Tallis on my iPod, I would shake hands with death. sir Terry was fond of saying, 'It's time we learned to be as good at dying as we are at living' and his brave approach to confronting issues of death, including his own, was a heartfelt demonstration of dignity.

2. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company:

   Approaching market research in a responsible way is really important. Transparency and handling peoples information responsibly have guided how weve built Study from Facebook, we plan to take this same approach going forward with other market research projects that help us understand how people use different products and services.

3. Simon Young:

   The roots of the common law run deep in Hong Kong and will not be easily uprooted, so I think China can only ultimately take a gradual approach, despite the rhetoric, those values are entrenched through the system.

4. Deborah James:

   I think Secretary of Defense Carter put it quite well last week when he said that our approach to Russia needs to be strong and it needs to be balanced.

5. Shenna Bellows:

   Our anything-goes approach was unusual.

Popularity rank by frequency of use