almost
adverb
- approximately
- nearly
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɔːl.məʊst/ / /ɔːlˈməʊst/ / /ˈɔː(l)məs/
adv
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-Germanic *ala- Proto-West Germanic *ala- Old English æl- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Old English eallmǣst Middle English almost English almost From Middle English almost, from Old English eallmǣst (“nearly all, almost, for the most part”), equivalent to al- (“all”) + most.
- Very close to, but not quite.
“Almost all people went there.”
“We almost missed the train.”
- Up to, except for a negligible set (where negligible is not universally but contextually defined).
“almost all”
“almost no”
- Up to, except for a negligible set (where negligible is not universally but contextually defined).
“almost everywhere”
“almost nowhere”
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-Germanic *ala- Proto-West Germanic *ala- Old English æl- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Old English eallmǣst Middle English almost English almost From Middle English almost, from Old English eallmǣst (“nearly all, almost, for the most part”), equivalent to al- (“all”) + most.
- Something or someone that doesn't quite make it.
“In all the submissions, they found four papers that were clearly worth publishing and another dozen almosts.”