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

This question essentially centres on the push by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to return Formula 1 to a set of engine regulations that are pretty much the same as the era from 2010-13.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

For pretty much everyone I know, their dog’s last years are littered with health problems that are both heartbreaking to witness and expensive to manage.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

“I think the case is pretty much over,” Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told Barron’s, despite Musk’s planned appeal.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

“I’m a hard worker who pretty much never takes sick days.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

“You’ll be with us for...however long you need to be. Is that okay? Candace will be back soon. She knows more than I do. About pretty much everything.”

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Related Words

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