Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Approximate \Ap*prox"i*mate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   {Approximated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Approximating}.]
   1. To carry or advance near; to cause to approach.

            To approximate the inequality of riches to the level
            of nature.                            --Burke.

   2. To come near to; to approach.

            The telescope approximates perfection. --J. Morse.