What does くらい (～kurai | ～くらい) mean in Japanese?

The Japanese word

彼は４０歳くらいです。
kare wa yon zero sai kurai desu.
He is about forty.

千人くらいの人がいた。
sen nin kurai no hito ga i ta.
There were toward a thousand people. | There were about 1,000 people. | There were about a thousand people. | There were about one thousand people.

彼女は私くらいの年齢だ。
kanojo wa watashi kurai no nenrei da.
She is about my age.

彼らは同じくらいの年だ。
karera wa onaji kurai no toshi da.
They are about the same age.

彼は私くらいの大きさだ。
kare wa watashi kurai no ōki sa da.
He is about my size.

彼女は私と同じくらい背が高い。
kanojo wa watashi to onaji kurai se ga takai.
She is as tall as I. | She is about as tall as me.

僕も１０分くらいで行きますから。
boku mo ichi zero fun kurai de iki masu kara.
I, too, will come in about ten minutes.

彼女は私と同じくらいの年齢です。
kanojo wa watashi to onaji kurai no nenrei desu.
She is about my age. | She's about the same age as me. | She's about the same age as I am.

彼女は私の姉と同じくらいの年齢だ。
kanojo wa watashi no ane to onaji kurai no nenrei da.
She's about the same age as my older sister. | She's about the same age as my sister.

死体を冷蔵庫に入れて２日くらいです。
shitai o reizōko ni ire te ni nichi kurai desu.
It's been about two days since I put the body in the refrigerator.

旅はおよそ５時間くらいかかるでしょう。
tabi wa oyoso go jikan kurai kakaru desho u.
The trip will take some five hours. | The trip will take about five hours. | The trip will take approximately five hours.

彼女は私と同じくらい切手を持っている。
kanojo wa watashi to onaji kurai kitte o motte iru.
She has as many stamps as I. | She and I have about the same number of stamps. | She has about as many stamps as I do.

彼女はあなたとだいたい同じくらいの身長だ。
kanojo wa anata to daitai onaji kurai no shinchō da.
She's about the same height as you.

彼女は私たちと同じくらいの年齢の女の子だった。
kanojo wa watashi tachi to onaji kurai no nenrei no onnanoko datta.
She was a girl of about our age.

彼が入ってきたとき私は１時間くらい本を読んでいた。
kare ga haitte ki ta toki watashi wa ichi jikan kurai hon o yon de i ta.
I had been reading a book for about an hour when he came in.

彼女は私をしかるのと同じくらいによくテリーをしかる。
kanojo wa watashi o shikaru no to onaji kurai ni yoku terī o shikaru.
She scolds Terry as often as me. | She scolds Terry about as often as she scolds me.

少し離れて見ると、彼女は５０歳くらいの女性に見えた。
sukoshi hanare te miru to, kanojo wa go zero sai kurai no josei ni mie ta.
Seen at a distance, she looked like a woman of about fifty.

歯医者で歯についたたばこのヤニを取ってもらうと、費用はどれくらいかかるでしょう？
haisha de ha ni tsui ta tabako no yani o totte morau to, hiyō wa dore kurai kakaru desho u?
About how much does it cost to have a dentist remove cigarette tar from your teeth?

今じゃ、ボクのお料理レベルは、１００点中４５点くらい。スゴイだろ、赤点じゃないのさ！
ima ja, boku no o ryōri reberu wa, ichi zero zero ten chū yon go ten kurai. sugoi daro, aka ten ja nai no sa!
Right now my score in Cooking is about 45 out of 100. Great isn't it? That's not a fail!

	The Japanese word
	くらい
	is pronounced
	～kurai \| ～くらい
	means
	about ~, approximately ~

	Examples:
	彼は４０歳くらいです。 kare wa yon zero sai kurai desu. He is about forty.
	千人くらいの人がいた。 sen nin kurai no hito ga i ta. There were toward a thousand people. \| There were about 1,000 people. \| There were about a thousand people. \| There were about one thousand people.
	彼女は私くらいの年齢だ。 kanojo wa watashi kurai no nenrei da. She is about my age.
	彼らは同じくらいの年だ。 karera wa onaji kurai no toshi da. They are about the same age.
	彼は私くらいの大きさだ。 kare wa watashi kurai no ōki sa da. He is about my size.
	彼女は私と同じくらい背が高い。 kanojo wa watashi to onaji kurai se ga takai. She is as tall as I. \| She is about as tall as me.
	僕も１０分くらいで行きますから。 boku mo ichi zero fun kurai de iki masu kara. I, too, will come in about ten minutes.
	彼女は私と同じくらいの年齢です。 kanojo wa watashi to onaji kurai no nenrei desu. She is about my age. \| She's about the same age as me. \| She's about the same age as I am.
	彼女は私の姉と同じくらいの年齢だ。 kanojo wa watashi no ane to onaji kurai no nenrei da. She's about the same age as my older sister. \| She's about the same age as my sister.
	死体を冷蔵庫に入れて２日くらいです。 shitai o reizōko ni ire te ni nichi kurai desu. It's been about two days since I put the body in the refrigerator.
	旅はおよそ５時間くらいかかるでしょう。 tabi wa oyoso go jikan kurai kakaru desho u. The trip will take some five hours. \| The trip will take about five hours. \| The trip will take approximately five hours.
	彼女は私と同じくらい切手を持っている。 kanojo wa watashi to onaji kurai kitte o motte iru. She has as many stamps as I. \| She and I have about the same number of stamps. \| She has about as many stamps as I do.
	彼女はあなたとだいたい同じくらいの身長だ。 kanojo wa anata to daitai onaji kurai no shinchō da. She's about the same height as you.
	彼女は私たちと同じくらいの年齢の女の子だった。 kanojo wa watashi tachi to onaji kurai no nenrei no onnanoko datta. She was a girl of about our age.
	彼が入ってきたとき私は１時間くらい本を読んでいた。 kare ga haitte ki ta toki watashi wa ichi jikan kurai hon o yon de i ta. I had been reading a book for about an hour when he came in.
	彼女は私をしかるのと同じくらいによくテリーをしかる。 kanojo wa watashi o shikaru no to onaji kurai ni yoku terī o shikaru. She scolds Terry as often as me. \| She scolds Terry about as often as she scolds me.
	少し離れて見ると、彼女は５０歳くらいの女性に見えた。 sukoshi hanare te miru to, kanojo wa go zero sai kurai no josei ni mie ta. Seen at a distance, she looked like a woman of about fifty.
	歯医者で歯についたたばこのヤニを取ってもらうと、費用はどれくらいかかるでしょう？ haisha de ha ni tsui ta tabako no yani o totte morau to, hiyō wa dore kurai kakaru desho u? About how much does it cost to have a dentist remove cigarette tar from your teeth?
	今じゃ、ボクのお料理レベルは、１００点中４５点くらい。スゴイだろ、赤点じゃないのさ！ ima ja, boku no o ryōri reberu wa, ichi zero zero ten chū yon go ten kurai. sugoi daro, aka ten ja nai no sa! Right now my score in Cooking is about 45 out of 100. Great isn't it? That's not a fail!

	Examples sourced from tatoeba.org