approximate about

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "approximate about" is not grammatically correct and is not commonly used in written English.
It is redundant and redundant phrases should be avoided in writing. Correct alternatives to "approximate about" would be "approximately" or "about." For example: - "The cost is approximately $100." - "It will take about an hour to complete." Using "approximate about" creates confusion and does not add any extra meaning to the sentence.

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

3 human-written examples

Both Nikolai Putilin as her father, Miller, and Hao Jiang Tian as Rodolfo's father, Count Walter, have impressive instruments but gave imprecise performances, approximate about everything from characterization to pitch.

The New York Times - Arts

She's the high point of a cast that's loud if not consistently strong: Wendy White and Francisco Casanova deliver respectably as the pair of star-crossed lovers; Samuel Ramey shows his wonted poise and wonted wobble as Zaccaria, and Frederick Burchinal is rather approximate about his pitches as Nabucco.

The New York Times

About 792 pixels with the size of 67.08 m or approximate about 5.31 ha were defined as the susceptible area in term of relief condition.

Geoenvironmental Disasters

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

In this experiment, the buffer size of the proposed SSS approach is set to the length of 30 files which approximates about 2 hours long.

EURASIP Journal on Audio, Speech, and Music Processing

It approximated about 28 times based on laboratory studies [ 14].

BioMed Research International

Sub-Saharan Africa alone approximates about 77% of neonatal deaths and a similar proportion of maternal deaths [ 5].

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

The challenge was to enhance the learning outcomes for this course when enrollment, approximates about 1500 students per academic year.

BMC Medical Education

For both approaches we extracted proteins from five 10 µm sections with an approximate area of about 0.5 cm2 of a formalin-fixed tissue sample in 100 µl of extraction buffer.

Plosone

In Figure 1, there are hints of other approximate symmetries, (about a vertical axis in Figure 1A and 1B and about a sloping line from lower left to upper right in Figure 1C).

BMC Genomics

Statisticians recognize that, human frailty being what it is, statistics are only ever an approximate estimate about what is happening in the real world.

The Economist

This will give first approximate interpretation about the underlying body.

Earth, Planets and Space

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Avoid using the phrase "approximate about" in formal writing. Instead, opt for "approximately" or "about" to maintain grammatical correctness and clarity.

Common error

Don't combine "approximate" with "about". Using both together creates redundancy. Choose either "approximate" as an adjective (e.g., "an approximate value") or "about" as a preposition (e.g., "about 10 minutes"), but not both.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "approximate about" functions incorrectly as a modifier. It attempts to provide an estimation or a degree of uncertainty but fails grammatically. As Ludwig AI indicates, it's a redundant combination. Examples show misuse in contexts where a single word like "approximately" would suffice.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

33%

News & Media

33%

Wiki

33%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "approximate about" is flagged by Ludwig AI as grammatically incorrect and redundant. The correct alternatives are "approximately" or "about". While the phrase appears across different contexts such as science, news, and media, its usage is infrequent and indicates a lack of precision in formal settings. Therefore, using grammatically sound alternatives ensures clarity and improves the quality of writing. Examples in Ludwig highlight that authoritative sources prefer "approximately" or "about" to maintain grammatical correctness.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

approximately

This adverb directly conveys the meaning of 'close to' or 'in the region of' without redundancy.

about

This preposition indicates a quantity or value that is not exact but reasonably close.

roughly

This adverb suggests a lack of precision but within an acceptable range.

around

This preposition is a simple and common way to indicate an approximate time, number, or amount.

close to

This phrase signifies nearness in value or quantity, implying an approximation.

in the vicinity of

This phrase provides a more descriptive way to indicate an approximate value or location.

in the neighborhood of

Similar to "in the vicinity of", this phrase emphasizes that the value is near but not exact.

estimated at

This phrase highlights that the value is based on an estimation rather than a precise calculation.

approximates to

This verb phrase indicates that something is similar or analogous to something else, offering a comparison-based approximation.

give or take

This idiom indicates a degree of uncertainty or variability in an estimate.

FAQs

What is the correct way to say "approximate about"?

The phrase "approximate about" is grammatically incorrect. Use "approximately" or "about" instead. For example, say "approximately 10 minutes" or "about 10 minutes".

Is it ever correct to use "approximate about" in a sentence?

No, the phrase "approximate about" is considered redundant and grammatically incorrect in all contexts. It's best to use a single word like "approximately" or "about" to convey the meaning of estimation.

What are some alternatives to the phrase "approximate about"?

Instead of "approximate about", you can use "roughly", "around", or "close to" depending on the specific context in your sentence.

How can I avoid making the mistake of using "approximate about"?

When you intend to convey an estimation or near value, use "approximately" or the preposition "about". For example, instead of writing "the approximate cost about $100", write "the approximate cost is approximately $100" or "the cost is about $100".