Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To come near or nearer, as in space or time.
  • intransitive verb Sports To make an approach, as in golf.
  • intransitive verb To come or go near or nearer to.
  • intransitive verb To come close to, as in appearance, quality, or condition; approximate.
  • intransitive verb To make a proposal or overtures to with a specific end in view.
  • intransitive verb To begin to deal with or work on.
  • noun The act of approaching.
  • noun A fairly close resemblance; an approximation.
  • noun A way or means of reaching something; an access.
  • noun The method used in dealing with or accomplishing.
  • noun An advance or overture made by one person to another.
  • noun The golf stroke following the drive from the tee with which a player tries to get the ball onto the putting green.
  • noun The steps taken prior to executing a competitive maneuver, as by a diver before diving forward from a springboard or by a bowler before delivering the ball.
  • noun The part of the area behind the foul line in a bowling alley used by a bowler in delivering the ball.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To come or go near in place or time; draw near; advance nearer; come into presence.
  • Figuratively, to draw near; approximate; come near in degree: with to: as, he approaches to the character of an able statesman.
  • To bring near; advance: as, he approached his hand to the cup.
  • To come or draw near to: as, to approach the gate.
  • Figuratively, to come near to in quality, character, or condition; nearly equal: as, modern sculpture does not approach that of the Greeks.
  • noun The act of drawing near; a coming or advancing near.
  • noun Access; opportunity or liberty of drawing near; nearness: as, “the approach to kings,” Bacon.
  • noun Nearness or close approximation in quality, likeness, or character.
  • noun A passage or avenue by which anything is approached; any means of access or approximation.
  • noun plural In fortification, the works thrown up by besiegers to protect themselves in their advances toward a fortress. Compare boyau.
  • noun In golf, the play by which a player endeavors to get his ball on to the putting-green.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To come or go near, in place or time; to draw nigh; to advance nearer.
  • intransitive verb To draw near, in a figurative sense; to make advances; to approximate.
  • transitive verb Archaic To bring near; to cause to draw near; to advance.
  • transitive verb To come near to in place, time, or character; to draw nearer to
  • transitive verb (Mil.) To take approaches to.
  • noun The act of drawing near; a coming or advancing near.
  • noun A access, or opportunity of drawing near.
  • noun Movements to gain favor; advances.
  • noun A way, passage, or avenue by which a place or buildings can be approached; an access.
  • noun (Fort.) The advanced works, trenches, or covered roads made by besiegers in their advances toward a fortress or military post.
  • noun (Hort.) See Approaching.
  • noun (Golf) A stroke whose object is to land the ball on the putting green. It is made with an iron club.
  • noun (Aviation) that part of a flight during which an airplane descends toward the landing strip.
  • noun (Bowling) the steps taken by a bowler just before delivering the ball toward the pins.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive To come or go near, in place or time; to draw nigh; to advance nearer.
  • verb intransitive, figuratively To draw near, in a figurative sense; to make advances; to approximate.
  • verb transitive To come near to in place, time, character, or value; to draw nearer to.
  • verb To make an attempt at (solving a problem or making a policy).
  • verb To speak to, as to make a request or ask a question.
  • verb transitive, military To take approaches to.
  • noun The act of drawing near; a coming or advancing near.
  • noun An access, or opportunity of drawing near.
  • noun Movements to gain favor; advances.
  • noun A way, passage, or avenue by which a place or buildings can be approached; an access.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English approchen, from Old French aprochier, from Late Latin appropiāre : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin propius, nearer, comparative of prope, near; see per in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English approchen, aprochen, Old French aprochier, Late Latin appropiare, from Latin ad + propiare ("to draw near"), from prope ("near").

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Examples

  • Paintings from the National Gallery's collections, including a "Judith With the Head of Holofernes," attributed to Mantegna, and a portrait of a Venetian gentleman on which Giorgione and the young Titian both worked, at once suggest the currency of Tullio's distinctive approach in the early cinquecento and how that ­approach was formed.

    Tenderness Out of Stone 2009

  • Laura Ling's sister, Lisa Ling, told CNN Friday night that she feels the change in approach is significant, and could aid negotiations for the women's freedom.

    U.S. seeks amnesty for two held in North Korea 2009

  • The guiding principle of a spreading-oil-stain approach is that it allows the counterinsurgent force to concentrate in part of the country and then slowly pacify the rest, using time to substitute for numbers.

    The Right Way 2006

  • The guiding principle of a spreading-oil-stain approach is that it allows the counterinsurgent force to concentrate in part of the country and then slowly pacify the rest, using time to substitute for numbers.

    The Right Way 2006

  • Somewhat more creationist in approach is the Nerve-Wracking Ball: a bowling ball on a rope, dangling from a tall tree branch.

    04.04 M-mv 2004

  • Somewhat more creationist in approach is the Nerve-Wracking Ball: a bowling ball on a rope, dangling from a tall tree branch.

    It read like a 'graph in The Onion. M-mv 2004

  • Somewhat more creationist in approach is the Nerve-Wracking Ball: a bowling ball on a rope, dangling from a tall tree branch.

    04.04 M-mv 2004

  • Somewhat more creationist in approach is the Nerve-Wracking Ball: a bowling ball on a rope, dangling from a tall tree branch.

    04.04 M-mv 2004

  • My choice of approach should depend upon a knowledge of who you are and where your own interests lie for the difference in approach is one of emphasis only.

    What is the Objective in Instalment Selling 1947

  • This approach is actually a good example of a trend that ought to be disturbing.

    Let me tell you how it will be (Jack Bog's Blog) 2009

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  • realization

    July 22, 2009