more than approximately

USAGE SUMMARY

"more than approximately" is correct, and it can be used in written English.
It is typically used when giving a precise measurement or estimate that is greater than an approximate measurement or estimate. For example: "He ran more than approximately 2 miles in the race."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Americium and curium products would require storage for not more than approximately 50 years.

Journal of Nuclear Materials

The goal of objective knowledge is legitimate, but it can never be more than approximately accomplished.

Encyclopedia Britannica

But an improvement of more than approximately 40% could not be reached, even when the initial transduction without PCI treatment already improved the orientation by 40%.

Nature

Highly nitrated cellulose i.e., nitrocellulose containing more than approximately 12.5percentt nitrogen will dry to a fluffy white substance known variously as pyrocellulose and guncotton.

Britannica

These cosmic ray afterglows are essentially temporary hot pixels, and are removed by the hot pixel logic if they contain more than approximately 8 events.

Harvard University

Friction coefficient of the coating was approximately 0.4 at more than approximately 30 mass% Si and lower than that of the substrate, approximately 0.6.

Surface and Coatings Technology

The legislative proposals disenfranchise two principal U.S.O.C. constituencies (the national governing bodies and the athletes themselves), keeping each from electing any more than approximately 20percentt of the board.

The New York Times - Sports

The votes for each candidate that have been counted are separated by no more than approximately 500 votes and may be separated by as little as approximately 100 votes.

The New York Times

This is a good approximation when the ratio of the lateral extent of the average saturated depth is more than approximately five times its depth12, that is, H/(L/2) < 0.2 (Supplementary Fig. 13).

Nature

The dimensionality reduction results show that both MIFE-C2B and MIFE-B2B obtain their best performance with no more than approximately 30% of the original dimensions on most tested datasets.

Information Sciences

However, although questions have been raised about the long-term performance of CSWs, only a few studies have targeted this issue and none have evaluated the performance of CSWs more than approximately 5 10 years old.

Ecological Engineering

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "more than approximately" when you need to convey that a value is higher than a rough estimate, but you want to maintain a degree of precision.

Common error

Avoid using "more than approximately" when a simple "about" or a rounded number would suffice. Overusing the phrase can make your writing sound verbose and less direct.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "more than approximately" functions as a qualifier, modifying a numerical value or quantity. It indicates that the actual value is greater than a given estimate. Ludwig indicates this is grammatically correct and commonly used.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

67%

News & Media

22%

Encyclopedias

5%

Less common in

Formal & Business

2%

Wiki

1%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "more than approximately" serves as a qualifier, indicating that a value is greater than a given estimate. According to Ludwig, this phrase is grammatically correct and commonly used across various contexts. It is frequently seen in scientific and news-related content, signifying a level of precision while acknowledging a degree of uncertainty. When using this phrase, ensure it adds value by emphasizing that the actual value exceeds the estimate; otherwise, simpler alternatives like "about" or "around" may be more appropriate. Remember to be mindful of your writing to avoid sounding too verbose. There are other ways of saying the same concept, like "roughly exceeding" or "in excess of about".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

roughly exceeding

Replaces "approximately" with a synonym and uses "exceeding" instead of "more than" for a slightly more formal tone.

in excess of about

Uses "in excess of" as a substitute for "more than" and "about" for "approximately", altering the phrasing while maintaining the core meaning.

over and above roughly

Emphasizes the exceeding aspect with "over and above" and uses "roughly" as a synonym for "approximately".

somewhat greater than estimated

Replaces "approximately" with "estimated" and uses "somewhat greater than" to soften the assertive tone.

significantly beyond the vicinity of

Offers a more emphatic and formal alternative, using "significantly beyond" and "the vicinity of" to replace the original phrasing.

a good deal above circa

Uses "a good deal above" as an alternative for "more than" and "circa" in place of "approximately", creating a more literary tone.

considerably higher than ballpark

Employs "considerably higher than" for emphasis and "ballpark" as a more informal substitute for "approximately".

appreciably surpassing give or take

Uses "appreciably surpassing" to highlight the extent of exceeding and "give or take" as a less precise synonym for "approximately".

noticeably past something like

Offers a more casual phrasing, using "noticeably past" and "something like" as alternatives.

markedly over in the neighborhood of

Replaces "approximately" with "in the neighborhood of" and uses "markedly over" for a slightly more formal tone.

FAQs

How can I use "more than approximately" in a sentence?

You can use "more than approximately" to indicate that a value exceeds an estimated amount. For example, "The project cost "more than approximately" $1 million."

What phrases are similar to "more than approximately"?

Similar phrases include "roughly exceeding", "in excess of about", or "somewhat greater than estimated". These alternatives offer subtle differences in tone and formality.

Is it always necessary to use "more than approximately" when giving an estimate?

No, it's not always necessary. Simpler phrases like "about", "around", or "roughly" often suffice. Use "more than approximately" when you want to emphasize that the value is definitely higher than the estimate.

What's the difference between "more than approximately" and "at least"?

"More than approximately" indicates a value exceeding an estimated amount, while "at least" sets a minimum value. For instance, "More than approximately 100 people attended" suggests over 100, while "at least 100 people attended" guarantees a minimum of 100 but could be more.