approacher

plural approachers

1. Someone or something that approaches.

   The monkeys’ calls warn other animals of approachers.

   4 more examples

   1589, Paul Ive (translator), Instructions for the Warres by Raimond Beccarie de Pavie, Seigneur de Fourquevaux, London: Thomas Man and Toby Cooke, Chapter 5, p. 38, […] houses or other thing standing néere vnto a towne, or fort, are meanes to surprise and approach vnto it, and the approacher not be discouered, or impeached by the defenders.

   Thou gavest thine ears like tapsters that bid welcome To knaves and all approachers:

   c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]

   Stop, Headstrong Muse! And e’er we Higher go, Look down, with Caution, on the Depth below; Prospects, so vast, the Rash Approacher fright, And, dazling, wound the uncollected Sight:

   1718, Aaron Hill, The Northern-Star, London: E. Berington and J. Morphew, page 13

   her vigilant ear picked up approachers in the corridor

   1971, Ian Wallace, The Purloined Prince, New York: McCall, act 3, page 125

2. astronomyAn asteroid on a near-Earth trajectory.

   We have some close approachers," he says, "but not one that would have an impact trajectory."

   2005 June 3, Ted McClelland, “Something Big Is Out There”, in Chicago Reader

   1 more example

   Extensive upgrades to the Arecibo antenna will be completed this spring, providing dozens of Toutatis-quality detections per year, spacecraft-quality images of the closest approachers, and hundred-pixel images of dozens of main-belt asteroids ( 9 ).

   1997 December 19, Erik Asphaug, “PLANETARY SCIENCE: Enhanced: New Views of Asteroids”, in Science, volume 278, number 5346, →DOI, pages 2070–2071

   Synonyms: earth approacher