approach

/əˈpɹəʊt͡ʃ/

//əˈpɹəʊt͡ʃ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"approach" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“approach” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,241. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,241
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To come or go near, in place or time; to move toward; to advance nearer; to draw nigh.

Corpus desk

Index EN-approach · approach · English

approach · rank #1,241 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,241
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH administration

Nearest frequency peer: administration (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “approach”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “approach” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

approach vs approaches
80% similar
approach vs approached
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for approach
PropertyValue
Headwordapproach
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈpɹəʊt͡ʃ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,241
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “approach”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).approachlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “administration” (#1,240), “Australian” (#1,242), “active” (#1,239). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “approach” is #1,241. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around approach (IPA /əˈpɹəʊt͡ʃ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #1,241 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for approach, with forms such as "apporach", "appraoch", and "approacch". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "approaches", "approached", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English aprochen, borrowed from Old French aprochier (modern French approcher), from Late Latin appropiāre, a verb based on Latin prope (“near”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (a variant of *per- (“before, in front; first”)) + *-kʷe … The correct English form is approach, spelled A-P-P-R-O-A-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To come or go near, in place or time; to move toward; to advance nearer; to draw nigh.
  2. 2
    To play an approach shot.
  3. 3
    Used intransitively, followed by to: to draw near (to someone or something); to make advances; to approximate or become almost equal.
  4. 4
    Of an immovable object or a number of such objects: to be positioned as to (notionally) appear to be moving towards (a place).
  5. 5
    To move toward (someone or something) in place, time, character, or value; to draw nearer to.
  6. 6
    To bring (something) near something else; to cause (something) to draw near.
  7. 7
    Used when defining limits, preceded by as: To become arbitrarily close to some value, be it a number, vector or infinity and have an effect on another value.
  8. 8
    To attempt to make (a policy) or solve (a problem).
  9. 9
    To bring up or propose to (someone) an idea, question, request, etc.
  10. 10
    To have sexual intercourse with (someone).
  11. 11
    To take approaches to (a place); to move towards (a place) by using covered roads, trenches, or other works.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how approach appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. She approached the door cautiously.
  2. We were approached by a stranger asking for directions.

Etymology

From Middle English aprochen, borrowed from Old French aprochier (modern French approcher), from Late Latin appropiāre, a verb based on Latin prope (“near”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (a variant of *per- (“before, in front; first”)) + *-kʷe (“suffix forming distributives from interrogatives”)).

This word in other languages

acercarse(Español)s'approcher(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apporach
  • appraoch
  • approacch
  • approachh
  • approahc
  • approcah
  • apprroach
  • aproach
  • aprpoach
  • paproach

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of approach - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

apporach2appraoch2approacch1approachh1approahc2approcah2apprroach1aproach1
Edit distance from "approach"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "approach"?
"approach" is spelled A-P-P-R-O-A-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈpɹəʊt͡ʃ/.
What does "approach" mean?
As a verb, "approach" means: To come or go near, in place or time; to move toward; to advance nearer; to draw nigh.
What words are commonly confused with "approach"?
"approach" is commonly confused with "approaches", "approached". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "approach"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "approach" is /əˈpɹəʊt͡ʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "approach"?
From Middle English aprochen, borrowed from Old French aprochier (modern French approcher), from Late Latin appropiāre, a verb based on Latin prope (“near”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (a variant of *per- (“before, in front; first”)... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "approach", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

physical#1,231majority#1,227finished#1,220features#1,219

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

sports10 variantsdefense10 variantsreasons10 variantsopening10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list