approaches

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular present of approach.

   Winter approaches, and the days grow shorter.

   He approaches the negotiation with caution and a clear plan.

   Note

   The present-tense form used with he, she, it and singular nouns. It carries every construction the verb allows. When it means moving toward someone or something, it takes a direct object with no preposition (she approaches the door), or it stands alone (winter approaches). Followed by to, it carries the figurative senses: making advances, or coming close to equaling something.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of approach.

   Researchers compared several approaches before settling on one.

   The new approaches to teaching reading sparked debate among educators.

   Note

   A regular plural, spelled with -es because the singular ends in ch, and identical in spelling to the verb's present form. It simply counts whatever the singular means: drawing near, an access route, a climbers' path, or a way of tackling a problem. Context decides which. Several approaches to a castle are roads, and several approaches to a policy are methods.

3. 3
   nouncountableplural

   Overtures or attempts made to gain someone's favor or affection.

   Like a suitor leaving flowers at a door, hoping to be noticed and welcomed.

   Her diplomatic approaches gradually won over the skeptical board.

   He rebuffed the lobbyist's approaches with a polite but firm refusal.

   Similarovertures, advances

   Note

   Only the plural carries this meaning, much as its synonym advances does: favor is won through a series of overtures, not a single step. Such approaches may be diplomatic, commercial or personal, and the verbs around them show where they stand. They are made, welcomed, resisted or rebuffed, and they succeed when someone is won over.

4. 4
   nouncountableplural

   The covered roads, trenches, and other works built by besieging soldiers as they advance toward a fortress or military post.

   Like a chess player advancing pawns under cover to close in on the opposing king.

   The engineers extended the approaches toward the fortress under cover of darkness.

   Defenders bombarded the besiegers' approaches with steady cannon fire.

   Similarsiegeworks, works

   Note

   Siege engineering uses the word for the works themselves rather than the act of advancing. These are the trenches, saps and covered roads that let besiegers bring troops and guns forward while shielded from the walls. Like the favor-seeking meaning, it lives only in the plural, because the works form one connected system. They are dug toward a fortress under fire, not simply laid out as a route to it.

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