{
    "term": "approximate",
    "partOfSpeech": "adjective",
    "academic": true,
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "almost correct or accurate, but not completely so",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "an **approximate number/total/cost**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The cost given is only approximate."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Use these figures as an approximate guide in your calculations."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Construction was completed at an approximate cost of $4.1 million."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/əˈprɒksɪmət/",
                "audio": "ap/approximate/approximate__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/əˈprɑːksɪmət/",
                "audio": "ap/approximate/approximate__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English (in the adjectival sense ‘close, similar’): from late Latin approximatus, past participle of approximare, from ad- ‘to’ + proximus ‘very near’. The verb (originally meaning ‘bring close’) arose in the mid 17th cent.; the current use as an adjective dates from the early 19th cent."
}