- next or nearest in space or time
- very near; close
- immediately preceding or following in a series
- a less common word for approximate
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
prox•i•mate
(prok′sə mit),USA pronunciation adj.
prox′i•mate•ly, adv.
prox′i•mate•ness, n.
prox•i•ma•tion
(prok′sə mā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- next; nearest;
immediately before or after in order, place, occurrence, etc. - close;
very near. - approximate;
fairly accurate. - forthcoming;
imminent.
- Late Latin proximātus, past participle of proximāre to near, approach. See proximal, -ate1
- 1590–1600
prox′i•mate•ness, n.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
proximate /ˈprɒksɪmɪt/, proximal adj
'proximate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):