pretty much

Idioms  

1. Almost, nearly, approximately, as in Our homework was pretty much finished. This adverbial usage differs from the use of pretty for “considerable” (as in pretty penny). [c. 1800]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pretty much

Stern: Ordinary people standing up for what they know the Constitution guarantees: That turns out to be the origin story of pretty much every major civil rights movement in America.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

They could charge pretty much whatever they wanted, because it was almost impossible to find a landlord who wasn’t in cahoots with a broker.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Seattleites, however, can attest that Burning Man’s ruin began long ago, pretty much since Microsofties and Amazonians invaded it in the early aughts.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

But I have to say that pretty much haemorrhaged with Douglas Alexander's arrival.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

What’s strange and complicated about it, however, is that pretty much all the important people on both sides of the gamble left the table rich.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• a little
• considerably
• fairly
• kind of
• moderately
• quite
• rather
• reasonably
• somewhat
• very