approach
Pluralapproaches
Verbapproaches, approaching, approached
Pluralapproaches
Formsapproaches, approaching, approached
- 1A way of going about something, such as framing a policy or tackling a problem.
The committee adopted a cautious approach to the new policy.
Different approaches to the same problem can give very different results.
UsageUsually an approach to a noun or an -ing form: an approach to the problem, an approach to solving it.
- 2To come nearer to someone or something in distance or time, or to come close to a particular amount, level, or quality.
Footsteps approached quietly from the hallway.
Trains approach slowly when the tracks are icy.
UsageCommon with time as well as space, often as fast approaching: the deadline is fast approaching.
Oppositerecede, retreat, withdraw, depart
Note
In King Lear, Shakespeare even makes it a command: Kent, left in the stocks overnight, calls "Approach, thou beacon to this under globe," wanting light enough to read a letter.
- 3To come to someone with an idea, question, or request.
He approached the committee with a detailed proposal.
Employees may approach human resources with any complaint.
Usageapproach someone with an idea or about something; no preposition before the person (not
incorrect: approach tosomeone).Note
The verb casts the subject as the one who opens the conversation. Dinesh Vaghela, in a publisher's note, recalls approaching U. G. Krishnamurti with the idea of publishing his conversations, and being told not to bother.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Vaghela recalls approaching U. G. Krishnamurti about publishing his conversations. ugkrishnamurti.in
- Krishnamurti discouraged Vaghela from publishing the conversations. ugkrishnamurti.in
- 4To set about tackling a problem or shaping a policy.
The team approached the budget crisis with fresh thinking.
Researchers approach each question by testing one idea at a time.
UsageOften with a word for the manner: approach a problem with caution, by testing one idea at a time.
Similartackle, address, handle, treat
Note
Here what is neared is a task, and the verb likes a phrase of manner: approach a problem with decision, with caution, by testing one idea at a time. F. Scott Fitzgerald's "O Russet Witch!" in Tales of the Jazz Age (1922) has a shopkeeper who approached "the problem of his wrecked shop" with decision. The matching noun is the "method" meaning.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote "O Russet Witch!", included in Tales of the Jazz Age. gutenberg.org
- Tales of the Jazz Age was first published in 1922. gutenberg.org
- The story describes a shopkeeper approaching "the problem of his wrecked shop" with decision; the quoted wording is exact. gutenberg.org
- 5A coming closer, whether in distance or in time; an advance toward someone or something.
The approach of the deadline made everyone nervous.
Sentries watched for the approach of enemy ships.
UsageUsually the approach of something, the approach of winter, or at the approach of someone.
Oppositeretreat, departure, withdrawal
Note
The noun grew from the verb in Middle English, where approche already meant both "approach" and "arrival." Its natural partners are time and fate, usually linked by of or a possessive: Shakespeare's "death's approach," Defoe's "the Approach of Night" (1719). Pope's Dunciad makes it ominous: at Dulness's "felt approach," art after art goes out.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- The noun derives from a Middle English noun meaning both approach and arrival, itself derived from the verb. en.wiktionary.org
- Shakespeare uses “death's approach”; King Henry speaks the phrase in Henry VI, Part 2, Act 3, scene 3. folger.edu
- Defoe uses “the Approach of Night” in Robinson Crusoe, narrated by Crusoe. gutenberg.org
- Robinson Crusoe was first published in 1719. en.wikipedia.org
- Pope's Dunciad describes the extinction of the arts at Dulness's “felt approach.” gutenberg.org
- 6The road, path, or passage by which one reaches a building or place, such as the trail leading to a climbing area.
A long, tree-lined approach led up to the manor.
Engineers widened the approaches to the new tunnel.
UsageOften plural: the approaches to a bridge or tunnel; the approach to a house.
Note
Landscape and architecture use the word for the way in: the drive up to a manor, the roads leading onto a tunnel or bridge, often in the plural as the approaches. Cowper's Odyssey (1791) lines the approach to a king's palace with gold and silver mastiffs, and Mahan in 1900 weighs an approach as a route for an attacking army. George Herbert's "Dulnesse" (1633) makes it figurative, setting approaches beside lines and window-songs.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
- Cowper's translation of the Odyssey describes gold and silver mastiffs lining the approach to King Alcinous's palace. en.wiktionary.org
- Cowper's translation was first published in 1791. themorgan.org
- Mahan discusses an approach as a practicable route for an attacking army. gutenberg.org
- Mahan's account containing this passage was originally published in 1900. gutenberg.org
- George Herbert's poem “Dulnesse” appeared in The Temple in 1633. en.wiktionary.org
- The poem uses “approaches” figuratively alongside “lines” and “window-songs.” en.wiktionary.org
- 7The path and procedure an aircraft follows as it comes in to land at an airport.
Air traffic control cleared the jet for its approach to runway 27.
Two earlier approaches were waved off because of crosswinds.
UsagePilots fly an approach to a runway; the last stage is final approach. Common before nouns: approach speed.
Note
Aviation treats it as a phase of flight and uses it freely as a modifier, as in approach speed. The FAA's Instrument Flying Handbook (2001) ties approach speed to stalling speed: an airplane that stalls at 50 knots has a normal approach speed of 65, or 1.3 times the stall. Pilots also use the word for the published procedures they fly, as in an instrument approach.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Aviation treats approach as a phase of flight. faa.gov
- The FAA published the cited Instrument Flying Handbook in 2001. us-ppl.de
- The handbook gives a normal approach speed of 65 knots for an airplane whose stalling speed is 50 knots. us-ppl.de
- The example's normal approach speed is 1.3 times its stalling speed. us-ppl.de
- Instrument approaches are published flight procedures. faa.gov
Less common meanings
- 8To come arbitrarily close to a value, such as a number or vector, as a limit, or to grow without bound when the target is infinity.
As x approaches infinity, the expression converges to one.
The values of 1/x approach zero as x grows larger and larger.
Note
Mathematics locks the word into a fixed formula: as x approaches a, f(x) approaches L. The as-clause names the variable that is doing the approaching, and the main clause reports what happens to another quantity meanwhile. "Arbitrarily close" is the technical heart of it: the value can come as near as you like. The target may be a number, a vector or infinity.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- The expression describes the behavior of f(x) as the input x approaches a. openstax.org
- Arbitrarily close means that the distance to the finite limit can be made smaller than any positive tolerance. openstax.org
- A limit can be a number. openstax.org
- A limit can be a vector. openstax.org
- Infinity can be the target in limit notation, meaning that the values grow without bound. openstax.org
- 9Short for approach shot: a golf shot toward the green or a tennis shot letting the player move toward the net.
His approach spun back toward the pin and drew applause.
She stuck the approach close and tapped in for par.
Note
Commentators clip approach shot to approach once the sport is clear, as in "his approach spun back" or "she stuck the approach." It keeps the same two sporting meanings as the verb for playing the shot, so context decides whether it is a golf ball aimed at the green or a tennis shot that carries the player to the net.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The sporting noun approach is a shortened form of approach shot. en.wiktionary.org
- A golf approach shot is intended to put the ball on the green. en.wikipedia.org
- A tennis approach shot accompanies the player's movement toward the net. itftennis.com
- 10To play an approach shot: in golf, a shot meant to land the ball on the green or near the hole; in tennis, a shot the player follows in to the net.
He chose to approach with a high, soft shot that stopped quickly on the green.
Golfers who approach accurately give themselves shorter putts.
Note
The verb means slightly different things in the two sports. In golf you approach from the fairway or rough and play for accuracy rather than power, so the ball lands and holds on the green. In tennis you approach by hitting a shot that lets you follow it in to the net.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Golf approach shots can be played from the fairway or rough. pdf.pgalinks.com
- Golf approach shots prioritize accuracy over power, with the green as the intended destination. en.wiktionary.org
- In tennis, an approach shot is played while moving toward the net. itftennis.com
- 11A close likeness in character or value; something that approximates another.
The replica is the closest approach to the lost statue we have.
Her imitation of the singer's voice was a remarkably close approach to the real thing.
UsageUsually with close, closest or nearer: the closest approach to the real thing, make a nearer approach to.
Similarapproximation
Note
Comparison is the work here, and the classic idiom is make a nearer (or closer) approach to. Richard Owen wrote in 1859 that a fossil ape, judged by its canine teeth, "makes a nearer approach" to the human condition.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Richard Owen published the passage in 1859. darwin-online.org.uk
- Owen used “makes a nearer approach” when comparing a fossil ape's canine development with the human type, conditional on the fossil being male. darwin-online.org.uk
- 12Of a fixed object or row of objects, to be positioned so that it notionally appears to be moving toward a place.
At the end of the bay, the steep cliffs approach the water, leaving no room for a road.
[T]here appears a seeming mount, made up of trees rising one higher than another, in proportion as they approach the centre.
1712, [Joseph Addison], “SATURDAY, September 6, 1712”Note
Nothing in this sense moves; only the eye travels, the way a road "runs" or a ridge "climbs." Addison in 1712 describes trees rising one higher than another as they approach the center of a seeming mount.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Addison's description appeared in 1712, in The Spectator, number 477. gutenberg.org
- The passage describes trees rising progressively higher toward the center of an apparent mound. gutenberg.org
- 13To move toward a fortified place by means of trenches, covered roads, or similar protective works.
Engineers helped the army approach the citadel by digging zigzag trenches across open ground.
Besiegers approach a stronghold gradually, extending their works closer each night.
Note
Siege warfare gave the word a slow, earthbound meaning: to approach a fortress was to dig toward it. Attackers built parallels, saps and covered trenches that shielded them from defensive fire as the works crept forward night by night. The works themselves were called approaches, so an army that took approaches to a town was advancing by spade as much as by foot.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Approach had a military sense of advancing toward a fortified place through protective works. en.wiktionary.org
- Besiegers constructed parallels and protective approach trenches. gutenberg.org
- Saps were covered trenches dug toward a besieged place. en.wikipedia.org
- Siege approaches were advanced through work undertaken under cover of darkness. gutenberg.org
- The protective trenches leading toward the fortification were called approaches. gutenberg.org
- 14An opportunity of drawing near to someone or something; a means of access.
The Learned met with free Approach, Although they came not in a Coach.
1726, [Jonathan Swift], Cadenus and Vanessa. A PoemHonour hath three Things in it: The Vantage Ground to doe Good: The approach to Kings and principall Persons: And the Raiſing of a Mans owne Fortunes.
1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Ambition. XXXVI.”Note
This is access treated as a privilege someone grants: Francis Bacon's The Essayes (1597; expanded 1625) counts "the approach to Kings" among the rewards of high rank, and Swift's Cadenus and Vanessa (1726) gives the learned "free Approach." Modern readers can misread such lines, because approach to now more readily suggests a way of tackling something.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Jonathan Swift wrote Cadenus and Vanessa, first published in 1726. gutenberg.org
- The poem describes the learned as receiving free access, using the words 'free Approach'. en.wiktionary.org
- 15To have sexual intercourse with someone, used as an older, discreet term.
None of you ſhall approche to any that is neere of kinne to him, to vncouer their nakedneſſe: I am the Lord.
1611, The Holy Bible, King James VersionSimilarmate, couple, copulate, penetrate, know
Note
The King James Bible of 1611 forbids anyone to "approche to any that is neere of kinne" to "vncouer their nakednesse."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The King James Bible was published in 1611. archive.org
- Leviticus 18:6 contains the quoted prohibition, including approach followed by to; the quotation normalizes long s. en.wiktionary.org
- 16The area in front of the lane where a bowler stands and takes their steps before releasing the ball.
- 17To bring something near to something else; to cause one object to draw near another.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
Late Latin appropiāre, a verb built on Latin prope ("near"), gave Old French aprochier (modern French approcher), which Middle English borrowed as aprochen. Its deepest roots are Proto-Indo-European.
From Middle English approche ('approach, arrival'), from the verb approchen, aprochen; it shares the origin given in etymology 1.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- The noun approach derives from Middle English approche, meaning 'approach, arrival', itself derived from the verb approchen, aprochen. en.wiktionary.org
- The noun shares the earlier origin of the verb described in etymology 1. en.wiktionary.org