perhaps

American  

[per-haps] / pərˈhæps /

adverb

1. maybe; possibly.

   Perhaps the package will arrive today.

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perhaps British  

/ pəˈhæps, præps /

adverb

1. 1. possibly; maybe

   2. ( as sentence modifier )

      he'll arrive tomorrow, perhaps

      perhaps you'll see him tomorrow

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1. it may happen, be so, etc; maybe

Etymology

Origin of perhaps

First recorded in 1520–30; earlier perhappes, perhapis “by haps”; equivalent to per + hap ¹ + -s ¹

Compare meaning

How does perhaps compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• perhaps vs. maybe

Example Sentences

That confidence was perhaps the product of Pedretti performing in two stage plays before “Forbidden Fruits” — or maybe it was the nighttime filming schedule.

From Los Angeles Times

Harrison figured that DeepMind had perhaps 30 or 40 technical stars.

From The Wall Street Journal

But perhaps World War III has now been meme-ified to the point of not meaning anything anymore.

From Salon

More interesting, perhaps, than input costs accelerating was the fact that businesses reported raising prices.

From Barron's

The next question for the Netherlands, and perhaps, soon, for the UK, is whether access to the social media apps should be consigned to history too.

From BBC