almost

English Online Dictionary. What means almost‎? What does almost mean?

English

Alternative forms

• aulmos (Jamaican English)

Etymology

From Middle English almost, from Old English eallmǣst (“nearly all, almost, for the most part”), equivalent to al- (“all”) +‎ most.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːɫ.məʊst/, (emphatic, utterance-final) /ɔːɫˈməʊst/
  • (colloquial, unaccented) IPA^(key): /ˈɔː(l)məs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔl.moʊst/, /ˈɑl.moʊst/, /ˈoʊ.moʊst/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): [ˈɒːɫmost]
• Hyphenation: al‧most
• Rhymes: -əʊst

Adverb

almost (not comparable)

1. Very close to, but not quite.

   Synonym: (obsolete) environ
2. (mathematics) Up to, except for a negligible set (where negligible is not universally but contextually defined).

   almost all

   almost no

   1. (measure theory, probability theory) Up to a null set; except for a set of measure 0.

      almost everywhere

      almost nowhere

      almost certain

      almost sure

Synonyms

• (very close to, but not quite): nearly, nigh, well-nigh, near, close to, next to, practically, virtually, not yet, not

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

almost (plural almosts)

1. (informal) Something or someone that doesn't quite make it.

References

• “almost”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “almost”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Altoms, smalto, stomal

Middle English

Alternative forms

• almoost, almast, almest, almuste

Etymology

From Old English eallmǣst (“nearly all, almost, for the most part”), equivalent to al- (“all”) +‎ most.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /alˈmɔːst/

Adverb

almost

1. almost

Descendants

• English: almost
• ⇒ Yola: almostly

References

• “al-mōst, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.