almost
Americanadverb
adverb
Usage
See most.
Synonym Usage
Almost, most, nearly, well-nigh all mean within a small degree of or short space of. Almost implies very little short of: almost exhausted; almost home. Most is colloquial for almost. Nearly implies a slightly greater distance or degree than almost : nearly well; nearly to the city. Well-nigh, a more literary word, implies a barely appreciable distance or extent: well-nigh forgotten; well-nigh home.
Etymology
Origin of almost
First recorded before 1000; Middle English almost, almast, almest, Old English eall(e) mǣst “nearly all”
Explanation
Almost means "nearly," "roughly," or "not quite." If you're almost as tall as your brother, it means he's still just a bit taller than you are. If you almost got a great job, you came close but weren't ultimately successful, and if you're almost qualified to get your pilot's license, nobody's going to let you fly a plane quite yet. The adverb almost is perfect for describing things you come close to doing, or states you haven't yet reached. It has an Old English root, eallmæst, "nearly all," or literally, "mostly all."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After one of the largest one-day declines on record Monday, South Korea’s high-flying stock market recouped almost all of those losses Tuesday.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
And his low conversation ratio from 27 poles is almost entirely down to team failings rather than driver.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
Exports of Canadian goods increased 1.6% from the month before to C$75.16 billion, and have jumped almost 25% on a year earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
“We were there almost every year when I was a kid,” he said of visits to the U.S. side of his family.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
This is true in almost every society with documented cases of Hansen’s disease, from the United States to the Philippines.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
