Approximable operator (${\overline{\{\text{bounded finite-rank operators}\}}}^{\Vert \cdot \Vert }$)

A bounded linear operator between normed spaces is approximable if it is an operator norm limit of bounded finite-rank operators. If the target is a Banach space, every approximable operator is a compact operator. For a given tolerance, approximate the operator in norm by one finite-rank operator, cover that operator's bounded unit-ball image by finitely many small balls in its finite-dimensional range, and transfer the cover across the operator-norm error. This makes the original image totally bounded; its closure is complete in the Banach target and therefore compact. The converse on arbitrary Banach spaces would require an additional approximation hypothesis and is not part of this assertion.