proximity
noun
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The fact that the star closest in proximity to our sun (approximately 4.2 light-years distant) is named Proxima Centauri is no coincidence. The history of proximity hinges on the idea of closeness, both physical and metaphorical. English speakers borrowed the word from Middle French, which in turn acquired it from forms of the Latin adjective proximus, meaning "nearest" or "next." Close relatives of proximity in English include proximal, proximate, and the somewhat more rare approximal (meaning "contiguous"). A number of other languages, including Catalan, Portuguese, and Italian, have similar words that come from the Latin proximus.
Examples of proximity in a Sentence
Dakotah Tyler, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2025
Context: Boston-Edison has a unique combination of historic charm, stately homes and proximity to downtown and Woodward Avenue.
—Joe Guillen, Axios, 18 Feb. 2025
Los Gatos’s proximity to Highway 17, the primary artery for vehicle traffic headed to Santa Cruz, means that traffic on the highway has been backing up into the town as long ago as the 1940s.
—Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2025
And thanks to its proximity to the more than 800,000 acres of Big Bend National Park, Terlingua is a popular basecamp for outdoor enthusiasts, who flock to the area to raft the Rio Grande, hike challenging desert terrain, and experience some of the darkest skies in the country.
—Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for proximity
Cite this Entry
“Proximity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proximity. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
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