Why make a number approximate?
A number can represent an exact count, a measurement, or an estimate. About, roughly, and similar words explicitly signal approximation. If the precision is unknown, around 300 helps avoid giving the impression of an exact count.
In academic and business writing, these words show the writer's stance towards precision. They can accompany estimates or rounded measurement results; they do not, by themselves, mean that no counting took place.
This rule covers numbers, fractions, and quantity words. It does not cover vague wording in general, such as sort of or in a sense, or open-ended lists with and so on: those are separate topics.
Around 300 people attended the opening.
Around 300 people attended the opening.
Someone who has not counted exactly can honestly signal this with around.
The survey reached some 2,500 households.
The survey reached some 2,500 households.
Some before a number is a formal option.
Before the number: the main approximators
The most common forms go directly before a number or quantity: approximately, roughly, around, about, some, and circa, used with dates and figures. Formal multiword phrases—in the region of and on the order of, also of the order of in British English—also precede the quantity.
The prepositions in these phrases are fixed: in the region of and on the order of. In the region two million, on the order to ten, and around of fifty are incorrect, as is some of 200 people when some is intended as an approximator.
For clarity, one marker is usually enough. Roughly around can sound redundant, although combinations of approximate markers occur in speech. Exactly and approximately contradict each other when they describe the same number in the same sense.
approximation marker + number or quantity: roughly 40; in the region of four million
Roughly 40 delegates were still waiting outside.
Roughly 40 delegates were still waiting outside.
A one-word approximator.
The grant is worth in the region of €90,000.
The grant is worth in the region of €90,000.
A multiword phrase containing of.
The signal fades at distances on the order of ten kilometres.
The signal fades at distances on the order of ten kilometres.
On the order of indicates the approximate scale.
After the number: or so, give or take, -odd, and -ish
Put or so and or thereabouts after a number or quantity phrase: seventy or so members, seventy members or so. Give or take means allowing for a small amount more or less and also often follows the estimate: a hundred pounds, give or take.
Add -odd to a number with a hyphen: sixty-odd members. This means a little more than sixty; it does not allow for a number below sixty. -Ish adds an informal tone: sixish, fifty-ish.
About 200 or so is possible, especially in conversation, but one marker is usually enough: about 200 or 200 or so. This is a matter of concision, not a general grammatical ban.
We saw seventy or so cranes on the lake.
We saw seventy or so cranes on the lake.
Or so follows the number.
There were sixty-odd members at the meeting.
There were sixty-odd members at the meeting.
Hyphenated -odd means a little more.
The bill will be a hundred pounds, give or take.
The bill will be a hundred pounds, give or take.
Give or take is conversational.
Direction: neutral and directional forms
Roughly, around, about, and approximately do not specify a direction of variation. Nearly, almost, and just under usually indicate a quantity below the reference point; just over indicates slightly more, and well over considerably more. Upwards of gives a lower reference point: roughly, the stated quantity or more.
Choosing a directional form communicates a fact about the quantity. You cannot clarify nearly 50 by saying actually 53. Neutral about 50 does not create that contradiction.
Directional forms also combine with fractions: nearly half, just over a third, well over two thirds.
Nearly ninety volunteers signed up before the deadline.
Nearly ninety volunteers signed up before the deadline.
Slightly fewer than 90.
Upwards of two hundred jobs are at risk.
Upwards of two hundred jobs are at risk.
Two hundred or more: a lower reference point.
Just over a third of the pupils walk to school.
Just over a third of the pupils walk to school.
A fraction with a specified direction of approximation.
Fractions and comparisons
Approximators naturally precede fractions, such as half, a third, and two thirds, and comparisons, such as double, twice as, and three times as: roughly half of the voters, about double the price.
Direction matters here: 49 per cent is almost half, not over half. A precise directional expression communicates more information than general roughly.
A fraction is often followed by of the + noun, and the verb agrees with that noun: Roughly half of the voters were undecided.
About a quarter of the budget goes on salaries.
About a quarter of the budget goes on salaries.
A fraction follows the approximator.
The new model is almost twice as fast as the old one.
The new model is almost twice as fast as the old one.
A directional approximator accompanies a comparison.
Quantity words without a number
A couple of, a handful of, dozens of, and hundreds of already give a general sense of quantity. Couple can mean exactly two or, informally, a few; handful means a small quantity without a fixed number. Another approximation marker is often unnecessary, but not every such combination is automatically ungrammatical.
An approximator can precede a numerical phrase: approximately a dozen, about a hundred. Plural dozens has no indefinite article: dozens of people, not a dozens of people.
Dozens indicates a quantity measured in tens, and hundreds one measured in hundreds; handful simply emphasises a small quantity. It does not set a limit of five or six.
A handful of protesters stayed behind after the speeches.
A handful of protesters stayed behind after the speeches.
A small quantity.
Hundreds of cyclists crossed the bridge at dawn.
Hundreds of cyclists crossed the bridge at dawn.
A quantity word indicating a scale of hundreds.
Register and rounding
Formal approximators—approximately, in the region of, on the order of, and circa—are natural in reports, articles, and presentations. Around, about, or so, give or take, and -ish range from neutral to conversational. The choice depends on the audience, not on the number's precision.
The degree of rounding should match the precision required. Roughly 2,000 is natural for a crowd estimate. An approximate decimal value is also possible, such as approximately 1.73 metres: a measurement can be highly precise without being absolutely exact. Decimal places do not in themselves conflict with approximately.
The order of magnitude is often enough: on the order of ten thousand communicates scale rather than an estimate accurate to the nearest hundred.
Attendance was in the region of nine thousand.
Attendance was in the region of nine thousand.
A round number with a formal phrase.
It's fifty-ish, I think. Maybe sixty.
It's fifty-ish, I think. Maybe sixty.
An informal form in a conversational context.
When approximation is inappropriate
Distinguish an estimate from an exact requirement. If a number specifies an amount to pay, an instructed dose, or a particular technical limit, do not replace it with an arbitrary approximation. Documents in these fields can nevertheless contain explicitly labelled estimates or permitted ranges.
A single text can easily use both approaches: an approximate attendance estimate alongside an exact invoice total. The reader can see which information is estimated and which is documented.
Do not combine an approximator with a marker of exactness such as exactly or precisely: this is why exactly approximately is contradictory.
The invoice total is £2,415.60, and some 80 guests attended.
The invoice total is £2,415.60, and some 80 guests attended.
An exact amount and an approximate number of people.
Take 10 mg at night.
Take 10 mg at night.
No approximator: the example specifies an exact dose.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:The grant is worth in the region 90,000 euros.
Correct:The grant is worth in the region of 90,000 euros.
The fixed expression in the region of requires the preposition of.
Incorrect:Or so sixty members voted.
Correct:Sixty or so members voted.
Or so follows the number; it does not precede it.
Incorrect:The server handles on the order to 10,000 requests.
Correct:The server handles on the order of 10,000 requests.
The fixed expression on the order of uses the preposition of.