almost

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al·most

(ôl′mōst′, ôl-mōst′)

adv.

Slightly short of; not quite; nearly: almost time to go; was almost asleep; had almost finished. See Usage Note at none.

[Middle English, from Old English ealmǣst : eall, all; see all + mǣst, most; see most.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

almost

(ˈɔːlməʊst)

adv

little short of being; very nearly

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

al•most

(ˈɔl moʊst, ɔlˈmoʊst)

adv.

very nearly; all but: almost every house; to pay almost nothing for a car.

[before 1000; Middle English; Old English (e)almāst, variant of æl mǣst; see all, most]

almost

– nearly

1. when you can use 'almost' or 'nearly'

Almost and nearly both mean 'not completely' or 'not quite'. They can be used in front of adjectives or noun phrases, or with verbs.

Dinner is almost ready.

We're nearly ready now.

I spent almost a month in China.

He worked there for nearly five years.

Jenny almost fainted.

He nearly died.

Almost and nearly can also be used in front of some time adverbials such as every morning and every day, and in front of some place adverbials such as there.

We go swimming almost every evening.

I drive to work nearly every day.

We are almost there.

I think we are nearly there.

If it is almost or nearly a particular time, it will be that time soon.

It was almost 10 p.m.

It's nearly dinner-time.

2. when you use 'almost'

Don't use 'nearly' in front of adverbs ending in '-ly'. You should use almost in front of these adverbs.

She said it almost angrily.

Your boss is almost certainly there.

You can say that one thing is almost like another. Don't say that one thing is 'nearly like' another.

It made me feel almost like a mother.

You can use almost in front of negative words such as never, no, none, no-one, nothing, and nowhere.

He almost never visits.

She speaks almost no English.

Don't use 'nearly' in front of negative words like these.

3. when you use 'nearly'

You can use nearly after not to emphasize a negative statement. For example, instead of saying 'The room is not big enough', you can say 'The room is not nearly big enough'.

It's not nearly as nice.

We don't do nearly enough to help.

Don't use 'almost' after not like this.

You can use very or so in front of nearly.

We were very nearly at the end of our journey.

She so nearly won the championship.

Don't use 'almost' with very or so.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adv.

almost - (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but; "the job is (just) about done"; "the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the contract"; "I was near exhausted by the run"; "most everyone agrees"

nearly, well-nigh, near, nigh, virtually, most, about

almost

adverb nearly, about, approaching, close to, virtually, practically, roughly, all but, just about, not quite, on the brink of, not far from, approximately, well-nigh, as good as The couple had been dating for almost three years.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

almost

adverb

Near to in quantity or amount:

about, approximately, nearly, roughly.

Idiom: on the order of.

Translations

تَقْرِيبَاًتَقْرِيباً

почти

téměřskoro

næsten

fast beinahe nahezuamper

σχεδόν

preskaŭ

casi cerca de por poco

melkeinlähes

presque quasi faillir pratiquement

skoro

næstum òví

quasi pressoché

ほとんど

거의

ferepaene

beveik

gandrīz

aproape

skoraj

nästan

เกือบจะ

hemen hemen neredeyse

gần như

几乎

almost

[ˈɔːlməʊst] ADV → casi
it's almost finished/ready → casi está terminado/listo
it's almost midnight → ya es casi medianoche
he almost certainly will win → casi seguro que gana
he almost fell → casi se cae → por poco no se cae
I had almost forgotten about it → casi lo olvido → por poco no lo olvido
we're almost there → estamos a punto de llegar, ya nos falta poco para llegar
"have you finished?" - "almost" → -¿has acabado? -casi

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

almost

[ˈɔːlməʊst] adv → presque
almost impossible → presque impossible
to almost do sth
I've almost finished → J'ai presque fini.
He almost fell → Il est presque tombé.
BUT Il a failli tomber.
almost a month → presque un mois
almost 5 kilometres → presque cinq kilomètres
almost all → presque tout
almost as big as ... → presque aussi grand(e) que ...
almost certainly → presque sûrement
almost immediately → presque immédiatement

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

almost

adv → fast, beinahe; he almost fell → er wäre fast gefallen; she’ll almost certainly come → sie kommt ziemlich sicher

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

almost

[ˈɔːlməʊst] adv → quasi
he almost fell → per poco non è caduto

almost

(ˈoːlməust) adverb

nearly but not quite. She is almost five years old; She almost fell under a moving car.

almost

→ تَقْرِيباً téměř næsten fast σχεδόν casi melkein presque skoro quasi ほとんど 거의 bijna nesten prawie quase почти nästan เกือบจะ neredeyse gần như 几乎

almost

adv. casi, cerca de, alrededor de.

It's almost two-thirty (US)
It's almost half past two (UK) → Je skoro půl třetí → Den er næsten halv tre → Es ist fast halb drei → Son casi las dos y media → Kello on melkein puoli kolme → Sono quasi le due e mezza → もうすぐ二時半です → 거의 두시 반이에요 → Het is bijna half drie → Den er nesten halv tre → Jest prawie wpół do trzeciej → São quase duas e meia → Den är nästan halv tre → Saat neredeyse iki buçuk → Gần hai giờ rưỡi rồi → 快两点半了

References in classic literature ?

Granet, a few days later, brought his car to a standstill in front of an ordinary five-barred gate upon which was painted in white letters "Market Burnham Hall." A slight grey mist was falling and the country inland was almost blotted from sight.

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Her intimacy there had made him seriously determine on her being handsomely legacied hereafter; and to speak of her therefore as the almost acknowledged future heiress of Fullerton naturally followed.

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Of late, almost every author who has studied the subject has come to this conclusion.

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Lord Dawlish, if he had been able to diagnose correctly the almost paternal attitude which had become his host's normal manner these days, would have been equally embarrassed but less startled, for conscience had already suggested to him from time to time that he had been guilty of a feeling toward Elizabeth warmer than any feeling that should come to an engaged man.

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He therefore deposited the said half-price himself; for he was a very prudent lad, and so careful of his money, that he had laid up almost every penny which he had received from Mr Allworthy.

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She realised that my outburst of passion had been simply revenge, a fresh humiliation, and that to my earlier, almost causeless hatred was added now a personal hatred, born of envy....Though I do not maintain positively that she understood all this distinctly; but she certainly did fully understand that I was a despicable man, and what was worse, incapable of loving her.

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I was in the mean time printing the material of Venetian Life and the Italian Journeys in a Boston newspaper after its rejection by the magazines; and my literary life, almost without my willing it, had taken the course of critical observance of books and men in their actuality.

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"One of them behemoths of 'Oly Writ," muttered Tippet as they came to a halt and with guns ready awaited the almost inevitable charge.

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Just then she heard feet almost running down the corridor and her door opened and the nurse came in.

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It was gloomy and stately, but it owed its character almost entirely to its noble shape and to the fine architectural doors-- as high as the doors of houses--which, leading into the various rooms, repeated themselves on either side at intervals.

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By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, further, the Italians had become intellectually one of the keenest races whom the world has ever known, though in morals they were sinking to almost incredible corruption.

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Almost a year and a half has passed since his crime.

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