almost

[ awl-mohst, awl-mohst ]

adverb

1. very nearly; all but:

   almost every house; almost the entire symphony; to pay almost nothing for a car; almost twice as many books.

almost

/ ˈɔːlməʊst /

adverb

1. little short of being; very nearly

Usage Note

See most.

Word History and Origins

Origin of almost¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English almost, almast, almest, Old English eall(e) mǣst “nearly all”

Synonym Study

Almost, most, nearly, well-nigh all mean within a small degree of or short space of. Almost implies very little short of: almost exhausted; almost home. Most is colloquial for almost. Nearly implies a slightly greater distance or degree than almost : nearly well; nearly to the city. Well-nigh, a more literary word, implies a barely appreciable distance or extent: well-nigh forgotten; well-nigh home.

Example Sentences

Have you tried to access the research that your tax dollars finance, almost all of which is kept behind a paywall?

From The Daily Beast

Meanwhile, almost exactly 30 years after the trial, the judge left his home to board a steamboat and was never heard from again.

From The Daily Beast

Almost all of the network and cable news channels said that they would not be showing the cartoons either.

From The Daily Beast

Editorial and political cartoon pages from throughout the world almost unanimously came to the same conclusion.

From The Daily Beast

To make it work almost everything else about these shows has to seem factual which is why many look like a weird Celebrity Sims.

From The Daily Beast

This city stands upon almost two equal parts on each side the river that passes through.

From Project Gutenberg

She was holding the back of her chair with one hand; her loose sleeve had slipped almost to the shoulder of her uplifted arm.

From Project Gutenberg

Big Reginald took their lives at pool, and pocketed their half-crowns in an easy genial way, which almost made losing a pleasure.

From Project Gutenberg

A lateen sail was visible in the direction of Cat Island, and others to the south seemed almost motionless in the far distance.

From Project Gutenberg

Almost as soon as she had finished building her nest she had discovered a strange-looking egg there.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• about
• approximately
• around
• essentially
• most
• much
• practically
• relatively
• roughly
• virtually