barely
Americanadverb
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only just; scarcely; no more than; almost not.
He had barely enough money to pay for the car.
-
without disguise or concealment; openly.
They gave the facts to him barely.
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scantily; meagerly; sparsely.
-
Archaic. merely.
adverb
-
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; see bare 1, -ly
Explanation
Something barely there is hardly there at all. If there are barely any leaves on the trees, then winter is right around the corner. Barely is a word meaning hardly, nearly, scarcely, or marginally. If there is barely a dusting of snow, there is hardly any snow at all. If your team barely won a game, then they came really close to losing. If you barely missed an ice cream truck, then you missed it by seconds. This is a word for near misses and close calls.
Vocabulary lists containing barely
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 26–31
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Tears of a Tiger
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Thirteen Reasons Why
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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.
"I could barely move. I could barely stand up straight. It was terrible," said Bowman.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
I was like, ‘Girl, you can barely get up the stairs,’” said Dorit Dowler-Guerrero, a co-founder of SELAH.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
It’s the possibility of a transaction in which one side can examine the other in exquisite detail, while the other can barely see the rules.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
"I used to have a car that ran on petrol but lately fuel quality has been low and prices have gone up," said Kanaan, 42, who had barely been covering his operating costs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Spying via telephone was such a modern concept I could barely even imagine such a thing, nor could I begin to think of what I could do in order to investigate.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
