ALMOST


Meaning of ALMOST in English

al ‧ most S1 W1 /ˈɔːlməʊst $ ˈɒːlmoʊst, ɒːlˈmoʊst/ BrE AmE adverb

[ Language: Old English ; Origin: ealmæst , from eall 'all' + mæst 'mostly' ]

nearly, but not completely or not quite:

Have you almost finished?

Supper’s almost ready.

It was almost midnight.

Almost nothing was done to improve the situation.

The story is almost certainly true.

He’s almost as old as I am.

almost all/every/everything

Marsha visits her son almost every day.

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ almost not completely or not quite:

I’ve almost finished my essay.

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It's almost lunchtime.

▪ nearly almost. Nearly is more commonly used in British English than American English:

I’ve been a teacher for nearly 10 years now.

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It’s very nearly time to go home.

▪ not quite almost, but not yet:

‘Is he 60?’ ‘Not quite!’

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It’s not quite time to go yet.

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I’m not quite ready yet.

▪ practically/virtually very nearly:

The room was practically empty.

| practically all/everything/everyone etc :

The frost killed practically every plant in the garden.

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Virtually everyone had gone home.

▪ more or less/just about/pretty much especially spoken very nearly – use this when saying that the difference is not important:

All the rooms are more or less the same size.

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His jacket was pretty much the same colour as his trousers.

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The policy will benefit just about everyone.

▪ getting on for British English informal , getting on toward especially American English informal almost a particular time, age, or period of time – used especially when you are not sure of the exact time, age etc:

It’s getting on for 10 years since we last saw each other.

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‘How old’s Diane?’ ‘She must be getting on toward 50.’

▪ close to almost a particular number, amount, or time – used especially when the number or amount is surprisingly large or the time is very late:

It was close to midnight by the time we arrived.

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They’ve spent close to $1.3 billion on the project.

▪ approaching/nearing almost – used when a number or amount is still increasing or a time is getting nearer:

The unemployment rate was nearing 20%.

▪ be on the verge of (doing) something to be very close to doing something:

She was on the verge of tears (=almost crying) .

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I was on the verge of giving up.

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They were on the verge of making a decision.

▪ be on the brink of something to be very close to an extremely bad situation:

The two countries are on the brink of war.

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The company was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.