barely
Americanadverb
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only just; scarcely; no more than; almost not.
He had barely enough money to pay for the car.
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without disguise or concealment; openly.
They gave the facts to him barely.
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scantily; meagerly; sparsely.
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Archaic. merely.
adverb
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only just; scarcely
barely enough for their needs
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informal not quite; nearly
barely old enough
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scantily; poorly
barely furnished
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archaic openly
Usage
See hardly.
Etymology
Origin of barely
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English bærlīce; bare 1, -ly
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.
John: sotto voce, just barely in range: “In the army, perhaps.”
From Salon
“There’s barely anything left on that pig,” he says, pointing to it as proof that the night was a success.
From Los Angeles Times
The lights were changing every second, and he never stopped moving — running, jumping, connecting with the crowd like the stage could barely contain him.
From Los Angeles Times
Crowds pressed around an ice rink blasting Christmas classics, barely audible over the joyous screams of children swaying on a pendulum ride nearby.
From Barron's
As for UPS, business isn’t supposed to improve all that much, though it is expected to generate enough free cash flow to cover dividend payments, if barely.
From Barron's
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.
