All 3 Uses of
approach
in
The Great Gatsby
- One of the three shops it contained was for rent and another was an all-night restaurant, approached by a trail of ashes; the third was a garage — repairs.
p. 25.0approached = come to
- He was saying some last word to her, but the eagerness in his manner tightened abruptly into formality as several people approached him to say good-by.
p. 52.4approached = got near
- The thing approached the proportions of a scandal — then died away.
p. 57.8 *
Definitions:
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(1)
(approach as in: approached the city) to get closer to (near in space, time, quantity, or quality)
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(2)
(approach as in: use the best approach) a way of doing something; or a route that leads to a particular place
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(3)
(approach as in: approached her with the proposal) to begin communication with someone about something -- often a proposal or a delicate topic
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(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) 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.