Meanings
- not comparableThat approaches or approach.
the approaching armies
- not comparableNearly.
The evacuation of approaching 200,000 people, along with reports of high radiation levels, of burning spent fuel, and apocalyptic footage of plumes of debris erupting from the stricken plant, will revive a question that seemed to have been retreating from global concerns: how safe is nuclear power?
2011 March 16, “There's more to fear from nature than nuclear power”, in Opinion, New Scientist
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of approach
The army was approaching from the north.
plural approachings
- The act of coming closer; an approach.
But we can also take a more analytical attitude to these displays, interpreting the movements as no more than approachings, touchings, and departings with no implication that one shape caused the other to move.
2011, Lance J. Rips, Lines of Thought: Central Concepts in Cognitive Psychology, page 168
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveof the relatively near future
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
By surface analysis, approach + -ing.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Esperanto aliranta
- alirantathat approaches or approach
Finnish lähestyvä, lähes
- lähestyväthat approaches or approach
- lähesnearly
- lähestyminenact of coming closer — see also approach
French approche
- approcheact of coming closer — see also approach
German Annäherung
- Annäherungact of coming closer — see also approach
Hebrew להתקרב
- להתקרב (LeHitkarev)act of coming closer — see also approach
Hungarian közeledés, közelgés
- közeledésact of coming closer — see also approach
- közelgésact of coming closer — see also approach
Italian avvicinamento
- avvicinamentothat approaches or approach
Portuguese aproximante, aproximador
- aproximantethat approaches or approach
- aproximadorthat approaches or approach
Russian приближе́ние
- приближе́ние (približénije)act of coming closer — see also approach
Spanish acercador, acercante
- acercadorthat approaches or approach
- acercantethat approaches or approach
- aproximantethat approaches or approach
- aproximadorthat approaches or approach
- apropincuantethat approaches or approach
Ukrainian набли́ження
- набли́ження (nablýžennja)act of coming closer — see also approach
Cite this entry
approaching. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/approaching
“approaching.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/approaching. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “approaching,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/approaching.
Source: approaching on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.