almost

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.

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[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]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Thesaurus

Adv.

1.

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

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

تَقْرِيبَاًتَقْرِيباً

почти

téměřskoro

næsten

fastbeinahenahezuamper

σχεδόν

preskaŭ

casicerca depor poco

melkeinlähes

presquequasifaillirpratiquement

skoro

næstum òví

quasipressoché

ほとんど

거의

ferepaene

beveik

gandrīz

bijnahaast

nesten

prawie

quase

aproape

почти

skoraj

nästan

เกือบจะ

hemen hemenneredeyse

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

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

almost

(ˈoːlməust) adverb

nearly but not quite. She is almost five years old; She almost fell under a moving car. amper, byna تَقْرِيبَاً почти quase téměř fast, beinahe næsten σχεδόνcasi peaaegu تقریباً melkein presqueכמעט लगभग, अधिकतर skoro majdnem hampir næstum því quasi ほとんど 거의 beveik gandrīz hampir bijnanestenprawie تقریباْ quase aproape почти skoro skoraj skoro nästan เกือบจะ hemen hemen 幾乎 майже, мало не تقریباً gần như 几乎

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

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

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

almost

adv. casi, cerca de, alrededor de.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

• It's almost two-thirty (US)
  It's almost half past two (UK) → السَاعَةُ الآنَ الثَانِيَّةُ والنِصْفُ تَقْرِيبَاً → Je skoro půl třetí → Den er næsten halv tre → Es ist fast halb drei → Είναι σχεδόν δύο και μισή → Son casi las dos y media → Kello on melkein puoli kolme → Il est presque deux heures et demie → Skoro su dva sat ai trideset minuta → 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 → Сейчас почти половина третьего → Den är nästan halv tre → เกือบสองโมงครึ่ง → Saat neredeyse iki buçuk → Gần hai giờ rưỡi rồi → 快两点半了

Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009