almost

The word “almost” means very close to a state or amount, but not quite reaching it. In plain terms, nearly, but not fully there yet.

“Almost” is pronounced AWL-mohst (/ˈɔl.moʊst/ in IPA).

Here is “almost” used in a sentence: “She almost missed the train.”

Words with a similar meaning to “almost” include all but, as good as, as near as makes no difference, fornigh, just about and more or less.

The opposite of “almost” — its antonyms — are mostly, somewhat, slightly and very.

“Almost” is an adverb.

The word “almost” comes from Old English. From Old English eallmæst, built from all + most.

“Almost” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

They are close synonyms and usually interchangeable — both mean not quite reaching something. "Almost" can feel slightly closer to completion and is a little more common in speech. "Nearly" is marginally more formal. In most sentences you can swap one for the other without changing the meaning at all.

"Almost" means just short of a point — almost full means not yet full. "About" means approximately, and can fall a little over or under — about a litre could be slightly more or less. So "almost" always falls short of the mark, while "about" hovers on either side of it.

No, though they look similar. "Most" means the majority or greatest part, as in "most people agree." "Almost" means very nearly, as in "almost everyone agrees." "Almost all" is close to every single one, whereas "most" is simply more than half. Confusing them changes how complete you mean something to be.

Yes. "Almost never" means very rarely but not quite never, and "almost always" means nearly every time but with occasional exceptions. "Almost" narrows these absolutes, showing you fall just short of a total. It works the same way with "everyone," "nothing," and similar all-or-nothing words.