proximate

adjective

prox·​i·​mate ˈpräk-sə-mət 

1

: immediately preceding or following (as in a chain of events, causes, or effects)

proximate, rather than ultimate, goals

—Reinhold Niebuhr

2

a

: very near : close

b

: soon forthcoming : imminent

proximately adverb

proximateness noun

Did you know?

If you’d like to approach a better understanding of proximate, and an approximation of its history, pull up a chair and get cozy with the history of its etymological proximity to other English words. Proximate comes ultimately from the Latin adjective prope, meaning "near," a source too of approach, reproach, and propinquity. Other close relations of proximate are easier to spot: they include proximity, approximation and approximate.

Synonyms

• approaching
• coming
• forthcoming
• imminent
• impending
• nearing
• oncoming
• pending
• upcoming

Examples of proximate in a Sentence

the proximate cause of the fire

the proximate publication of his first novel

Recent Examples on the Web

None of the six elements need to be proximate to the others. —Jeff Gibson, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024

Ever since coastal erosion became a phrase and local legislation came into force in 2001, building a residence so proximate to the water has been forbidden. —Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024

My parents were too poor to buy houses that were proximate to where the good schools were. —Fortune Editors, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2023

There is just muffled breathing and the soft, warm, proximate presence of another … Over a 70-year career, Freud concerned himself almost exclusively with getting paint to convey the living weight and mortal gorgeousness of the human body and of other things close at hand, living and dead. —Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Latin proximatus, past participle of proximare to approach, from proximus nearest, next, superlative of prope near — more at approach

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Medical Definition

proximate

adjective

prox·​i·​mate ˈpräk-sə-mət 

1

a

: very near

b

: next, preceding, or following

especially : relating to or being a proximate cause

2

: determined by proximate analysis

3

: proximal sense 1b

proximately adverb

Legal Definition

proximate

adjective

prox·​i·​mate ˈpräk-sə-mət 

1

: next immediately preceding or following (as in a chain of causation, events, or effects) : being or leading to a particular especially foreseeable result without intervention see also proximate cause at cause sense 1

2

: very or relatively close or near

would be sufficiently proximate to the commencement of the defendant's trial

—Johnson v. New Jersey, 384 U.S. 719 (1966)

proximately adverb