1.
гл. ; 3-е лицо ед. прош. вр. от быть
2. частица
( почти, вот-вот ) nearly, on the point of
он было стал засыпать — he had nearly fallen asleep, he was on the point of falling asleep, he was just going to fall asleep
я чуть было не сказал — I was on the point of saying, I nearly said
чуть было не — (very) nearly