barely

American  

[bair-lee] / ˈbɛər li /

adverb

1. only just; scarcely; no more than; almost not.

   He had barely enough money to pay for the car.

2. without disguise or concealment; openly.

   They gave the facts to him barely.

3. scantily; meagerly; sparsely.

4. Archaic. merely.

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barely British  

/ ˈbɛəlɪ /

adverb

1. only just; scarcely

   barely enough for their needs

2. informal not quite; nearly

   barely old enough

3. scantily; poorly

   barely furnished

4. archaic openly

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Usage

See hardly.

Etymology

Origin of barely

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English bærlīce; bare ¹, -ly

Example Sentences

But in the week ending March 6, energy stocks barely budged.

From Barron's

"Many glaciers are now losing so much mass that they barely react to periods of short-term cooling, such as that seen in July 2025," he said.

From BBC

Kalhan, also from Sri Lanka, earns a small percentage on each sale, topping up a fixed salary of barely 3,000 dirhams -- an amount he will have to survive on this month.

From Barron's

In the 10 days after fighting began, however, shares in big energy companies barely budged at all.

From Barron's

Yet in the state election barely a year later, the AfD at around 18% slightly underperformed its vote share in the state in the national election.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• almost
• hardly
• scarcely