the event of one object coming closer to another
"The approaching storm brought heavy rain and high winds to our coastal town."
the temporal property of becoming nearer in time
"the approach of winter"
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
"the hunter's approach scattered the geese"
The act of coming closer; an approach.
"The approaching fog made it difficult to see the road ahead."
"The approaching winter brings shorter days and colder nights."
present participle of approach
"The approaching storm brought heavy winds and dark clouds to the coast."
In plain English: To approach means to move closer toward someone or something.
"The storm is approaching quickly, so we should secure our windows now."
of the relatively near future
"the approaching election"
"this coming Thursday"
"the forthcoming holidays"
"the upcoming spring fashions"
That approaches or approach.
"The storm is approaching, so we should secure the windows now."
In plain English: Approaching means getting closer to something that is happening or being reached soon.
"The approaching storm caused everyone to rush inside before the rain started falling."
Nearly.
"The approaching storm brought heavy rain to our neighborhood."
The word approaching is formed by combining the verb approach with the suffix -ing. It was first used as a present participle to describe something that is moving nearer or about to happen.