What it means
The two sides are close but not exactly equal, as with a rounded value or an approximation that improves in some limit.
Read aloud in real formulas
π ≈ 3.14
Aethel says
pi is approximately 3.14
pi rounded to two decimals
n! ≈ √(2πn) (n/e)ⁿ
Aethel says
n factorial is approximately the square root of 2 pi n, times the quantity n over e, to the power of n
Stirling's approximation
Typing it
- LaTeX
- \approx
- Unicode
- U+2248
Formulas that use it
Questions
How do you say ≈ out loud?
It is usually read “is approximately”, and also “approximately equals”.
What does ≈ mean in maths?
The two sides are close but not exactly equal, as with a rounded value or an approximation that improves in some limit.
How do you type ≈?
In LaTeX, write \approx. Its Unicode code point is U+2248.
What is ≈ often confused with?
It is easy to mistake for ∼, which means "is distributed as" or "is of the same order as".