Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

approach

/əˈpɹoʊt͡ʃ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.93 in modern English

Syllables: ap-proach
IPA: /əˈpɹoʊt͡ʃ/

17

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

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

Intransitive verb

verb

To play an approach shot.

Intransitive verb

verb

Used intransitively, followed by to: to draw near (to someone or something); to make advances; to approximate or become almost equal.

verb

Of an immovable object or a number of such objects: to be positioned as to (notionally) appear to be moving towards (a place).

Intransitive verb; Transitive verb

verb

To move toward (someone or something) in place, time, character, or value; to draw nearer to.

Transitive verb

verb

To bring (something) near something else; to cause (something) to draw near.

Transitive verb

verb

Used when defining limits, preceded by as: To become arbitrarily close to some value, be it a number, vector or infinity and have an effect on another value.

Transitive verb

verb

To attempt to make (a policy) or solve (a problem).

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"She approached the door cautiously."
"We were approached by a stranger asking for directions."
"The deadline is fast approaching."
"Approach thou beacon [the Sun] to this vnder gloabe, That by thy comfortable beames I may Peruſe this letter, nothing almoſt ſees my wracke But miſerie."
"And if ſo be that the kings wrath ariſe, and hee ſay vnto thee, wherefore approched ye ſo nigh vnto the city when yee did fight? Knew yee not that they would ſhoot from the wall?"
"And let vs conſider one another to prouoke vnto loue, and to good workes: Not forſaking the aſſembling of ourſelues together, as the manner of ſome is: but exhorting one another, and ſo much the more, as ye ſee the day approching."

Etymology

From Middle English aprochen, borrowed from Old French aprochier (modern French approcher), from Late Latin appropiāre, a verb based on Latin prope (“near”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (a variant of *per- (“before, in front; first”)) + *-kʷe (“suffix forming distributives from interrogatives”)).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *per-, aprochen, aprochier, appropio, prope, *pro-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /əˈpɹoʊt͡ʃ/
British English: /əˈpɹəʊt͡ʃ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

approaches (present, singular) approaching (participle, present) approached (participle, past) approached (past) approaches (plural)

Derived Forms

approachability approachable approachableness approacher approaching approachless approachment reapproach unapproachability unapproachable unapproachableness unapproachably

Phrases

approach anxiety approach-forcing approach play approach shoe approach wedge closest point of approach cold approach final approach

Synonyms

approach cohabit common company copulate couple engage in sex exchange flesh have intimate relations have marital relations have sex have sexual relations

Rhymes With

coach roach roche reproach poach broach encroach roache goetsch caroche brooch loh

Questions

How do you pronounce approach?: The recorded pronunciation is /əˈpɹoʊt͡ʃ/.
What does approach mean?: To come or go near, in place or time; to move toward; to advance nearer; to draw nigh.
Where does approach come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce approach

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “approach”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/əˈpɹoʊt͡ʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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