3 meanings
(click/touch triangles for details)
1 —as in:
approached the city
Definition
to get closer to (near in space, time, quantity, or quality)- Winter is approaching.
approaching = getting nearer
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- I grew more nervous as the test approaches.
- I was fast approaching manhood, and year after year had passed, and I was still a slave.Frederick Douglass -- The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
- His twelfth birthday was approaching.George Orwell -- Animal Farm
- When Peter turned and saw Cole approaching, he turned away.Ben Mikaeslen -- Touching Spirit Bear
- "My good Horse," said the Hermit, who had approached them unnoticed because his bare feet made so little noise on that sweet, dewy grass.C.S. Lewis -- The Horse and His Boy
- Other soldiers approached his table at mess and asked permission to sit down.Orson Scott Card -- Ender's Game
- The thing approached the proportions of a scandal — then died away.F. Scott Fitzgerald -- The Great Gatsby
- She had never been able to recall anything approaching to tenderness in his former treatment of herself.Jane Austen -- Mansfield Park
- She ducked lower as he approached, suddenly worried that the tip of her boat was visible.Delia Owens -- Where the Crawdads Sing
approaches = gets nearer (in time)
approaching = getting close to
approaching = getting near
approaching = coming near
approached = got near
approached = went to
approached = got near
approaching = similar (close in quality)
approached = got near
2 —as in:
use the best approach
Definition
a way of doing something; or a route that leads to a particular place- Perhaps I just need to work harder, but I may need an entirely different approach to the problem.
approach = method (way of doing something)
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- The approach to the cabin was covered with snow.
- She always approaches problems in a thoughtful manner.
- Sentinels were placed at all the approaches to the farm.George Orwell -- Animal Farm
- I'd learned by then that a direct approach, 'By God, you better not try a stunt like that again!', didn't work with Chris.Jon Krakauer -- Into the Wild
- Unable to choose between the two approaches, I decided to try both.Michael Pollan -- The Omnivore's Dilemma
- Trying a new approach, he grabbed Alby's arms again and started dragging him along the ground.James Dashner -- The Maze Runner
- He hoped to prove that science and religion are two totally compatible fields-two different approaches to finding the same truth.Dan Brown -- Angels & Demons
- "Dr. Hammond," my mom said, and this time, Whitney rolled her eyes at his name, "says that this woman, Moira Bell, has had great success with many of his patients because she takes a different approach."Sarah Dessen -- Just Listen
- When she had registered with the Immigration and Naturalization Service upon filing her green card application, Luma had been fingerprinted; her fingers were placed on an ink pad and carefully rolled over the card beneath. The woman at the Walton County jail had a different approach; she grabbed Luma's hand, inked her fingertips, and then slammed her hand down on the counter.Warren St. John -- Outcasts United
approach = path (that leads to a particular place)
approaches = does (something in a particular way)
approaches = routes that lead to a particular place
approach = technique (way of doing something)
approaches = ways of doing something
approach = technique (way of doing something)
approaches = ways of doing something
approach = route (way to achieving something)
approach = technique (way of doing something)
3 —as in:
approached her with the proposal
Definition
to begin communication with someone about something — often a proposal or a delicate topic- They approached her about becoming a member of the committee.
approached = began communication with
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- I approached three bankers about a loan and all said "No."
- Teabing had approached the BBC with a proposal for a historical documentary in which he would expose the explosive history of the Holy Grail to a mainstream television audience.Dan Brown -- The Da Vinci Code
- One of their neighbors was the director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, and Walt approached this man, an army general, for advice.Jon Krakauer -- Into the Wild
- A favor could be called in by Andrey, a swap negotiated by Emile, and Audrius approached by the Count. Thus, the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth ingredients.Amor Towles -- A Gentleman in Moscow
- Almost all he can do is watch, in particular the SS guarding them, and he tries to work out who can be approached and who must be avoided. He starts to talk occasionally to one of them.Heather Morris -- The Tattooist of Auschwitz
- She decided to make her approach. Standing in front of Saeed's father she proceeded to talk animatedly with a friend while ignoring the object of her desire. He noticed her. He listened to her. He summoned the nerve to speak to her.Moshin Hamid -- Exit West
- She might have disdained him in all the dignity of angry virtue, in the grounds of Sotherton, or the theatre at Mansfield Park; but he approached her now with rights that demanded different treatment. ... she must have a strong feeling of gratitude.Jane Austen -- Mansfield Park
- Once the persecution began, his work slowly dried up. ... He approached an old faithful named Herbert Bollinger—a man with a hemispheric waistline who spoke Hochdeutsch (he was from Hamburg)—when he saw him on Munich Street. At first, the man looked down, past his girth, to the ground, but when his eyes returned to the painter, the question clearly made him uncomfortable.Markus Zusak -- The Book Thief
- For one thing he mightn't what you call jump at the idea, if approached, and what mostly worried him was he didn't know how to lead up to it or word it exactly,James Joyce -- Ulysses
approached = began communication with
approached = engaged in conversation
approached = began talking with
approached = to begin communication regarding a proposal
approached = engaged in conversation
approach = to begin communication with someone for the first time
approached = began (again) to talk about a delicate topic
approached = began communicating (about a delicate topic) with
approached = began speaking with someone about something
Less commonly:
More rarely (and typically only in classic literature), the phrase nearest approach to as used in "her nearest approach to an apology" or "her nearest approach to a smile" typically means that "something is as close to something else as it ever gets." "As near an approach to" can have a similar meaning.