approximation
French, noun/a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃/
approximation is spelled A-P-P-R-O-X-I-M-A-T-I-O-N (13 letters) and appears 1.8 times per million words in written French, the 21,879th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Approximation is a French feminine noun meaning “approximation; an imprecise solution” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Estimation par à peu près, où l’on se contente d’approcher de la vérité sans s’attacher à une exactitude…”.
What does approximation mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineapproximation; an imprecise solution
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Estimation par à peu près, où l’on se contente d’approcher de la vérité sans s’attacher à une exactitude rigoureuse. 2. Mode d’articulation consonantique caractérisé par un resserrement du canal vocal sans compression de l’air, de manière à ne produire aucune impression auditive de friction. 3. Procédure permettant de calculer une valeur approchée d’un nombre, par exemple en arrondissant.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of approximation
- approximations plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce approximation?
- /a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃/
- \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to approximation
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is approximation in French?
approximation appears 1.8 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).