almost
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++al·most /ˈɔːlməʊst $ ˈɒːlmoʊst, ɒːlˈmoʊst/ ●●● S1 W1 adverb ALMOSTnearly, but not completely or not quite 几乎，差不多 Have you almost finished? 你差不多完成了吗？ Supper’s almost ready. 晚饭就要做好了。 It was almost midnight. 午夜将至。 Almost nothing was done to improve the situation. 几乎没有采取什么措施来改善这个情况。 The story is almost certainly true. 这故事几乎肯定是真实的。 He’s almost as old as I am. 他差不多跟我一样大。almost all/every/everything Marsha visits her son almost every day. 玛莎几乎每天都去看望儿子。n GRAMMAR: Word order• Almost usually comes before a main verb: I almost cried.• Almost usually comes after ‘be’ when it is the main verb: I am almost ready.• Almost comes after the first auxiliary verb: She has almost decided.It could almost be described as luminous. ✗Don’t say: She almost has decided. THESAURUSalmost not completely or not quite 几乎，差不多I’ve almost finished my essay. 我的论文就快写完了。It's almost lunchtime. 就要到午饭时间了。nearly almost. Nearly is more commonly used in British English than American English 几乎，差不多〔nearly在英国英语中比在美国英语中更常用〕I’ve been a teacher for nearly 10 years now. 我当老师差不多十年了。It’s very nearly time to go home. 差不多是时候回家了。not quite almost, but not yet 差不多，还没有‘Is he 60?’ ‘Not quite!’ “他有60岁了吗？”“还没呢！”It’s not quite time to go yet. 还没到走的时候。I’m not quite ready yet. 我还没有完全准备好。practically/virtually very nearly 几乎，差不多The room was practically empty. 房间里几乎空无一物。 | practically all/everything/everyone etcThe frost killed practically every plant in the garden. 寒霜几乎冻死了花园里的所有植物。Virtually everyone had gone home. 几乎人人都已回家。more or less/just about/pretty much especially spoken very nearly – use this when saying that the difference is not important 几乎，差不多〔表示差异并不重要〕All the rooms are more or less the same size. 所有的房间都差不多大。His jacket was pretty much the same colour as his trousers. 他的夹克和裤子几乎是一个颜色。nThe 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 快到〔尤用于表示对确切时间、年龄等不确定〕It’s getting on for 10 years since we last saw each other. 我们都快十年没见面了。‘How old’s Diane?’ ‘She must be getting on toward 50.’ “黛安娜多大年纪了？”“肯定都快50岁了。”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 接近〔某一数字、数量或时间，尤指数字或数量非常大或时间非常晚〕It was close to midnight by the time we arrived. 我们到时已将近午夜。They’ve spent close to $1.3 billion on the project. 他们在这个项目上已投入将近13亿美元。approaching/nearing almost – used when a number or amount is still increasing or a time is getting nearer 接近〔用于表示数字或数量仍在增加或时间迫近〕The unemployment rate was nearing 20%. 失业率接近20%。be on the verge of (doing) something to be very close to doing something 即将（做）某事She was on the verge of tears (=almost crying). 她差点儿就要哭出来了。I was on the verge of giving up. 我几乎就要放弃了。nThey were on the verge of making a decision.be on the brink of something to be very close to an extremely bad situation 处于…的边缘〔指非常糟糕的情况〕The two countries are on the brink of war. 两国处于战争的边缘。The company was on the brink of bankruptcy. 这家公司濒临破产。
Examples from the Corpus
almost• The crowd of almost 2,700 cheers loudly.• We stayed at Grandma's for almost a week.• The wines are almost as expensive as champagne.• Early in the evening it will be almost directly overhead.• It is calculated in almost exactly the same way.• I'm almost finished.• It's an almost impossible task.• The treatment of engineering dynamics is almost invariably linear, although examples of simple non-linear formulations are provided.• Then, almost magically, as she realised this, something stirred inside her and that something was excitement and courage.• It almost seems like a mob.• The stars looked almost the same here as they did on the other side of the world.• Are we almost there?• The Western Electric system was thoroughly thought out, with a performance exceeding acoustic cutters by two-and-a-half octaves and almost unlimited amplification.almost all/every/everything• The danger for almost all golfers is that the right side tends to be dominant at the start of the downswing.• But even so, in almost all kinds of social relationship, there is some degree of power flow.• When the 1990 results are published in June, almost all of the 20,000 active names will have at least one open year.• Despite sales falls in several areas, almost all of the group's businesses increased profits.• This is developed in almost all religions into a requirement to love even enemies.• For them, as for almost all the children of immigrants, assimilation was good.• In the civil trial, the judge gave the plaintiffs almost everything they asked for, while severly limiting the defense.• Y., congressman made no effort to hide his disdain for almost every type of federal tax.Origin almost Old English ealmæst, from eall “all” + mæst “mostly”al·most adverb →n GRAMMAR1 →THESAURUS1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
not not nearly, quite but completely Corpus or
almost
al‧most S1 W1 /ˈɔːlməʊst $ ˈɒːlmoʊst, ɒːlˈmoʊst/
adverb
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.
▪ almost not completely or not quite: I’ve almost finished my essay. | 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. | It’s very nearly time to go home.
▪not quite almost, but not yet: ‘Is he 60?’ ‘Not quite!’ | It’s not quite time to go yet. | 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. | 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. | His jacket was pretty much the same colour as his trousers. | 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. | ‘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. | 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). | I was on the verge of giving up. | 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. | The company was on the brink of bankruptcy.
al‧most S1 W1 /ˈɔːlməʊst $ ˈɒːlmoʊst, ɒːlˈmoʊst/
adverb Language: Old English
Origin: ealmæst, from eall 'all' + mæst 'mostly'
nearly, but not completely or not quite:Origin: ealmæst, from eall 'all' + mæst 'mostly'
almost all/every/everything
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They are used in positive sentences. 三词均用于肯定句 ：◆ She almost/nearly/practically missed her train. 她差点儿误了火车。 They can be used before words like all ,every andeverybody .三词均可用于 all、every、everybody 等词前 ：◆ Nearly all the students have bikes. 几乎所有学生都有自行车。 ◆ I've got practically every CD they've made. 他们灌制的每张激光唱片我几乎都有。 Practically is used more in spoken than in written English.Nearly is the most common with numbers.* practically 多用于口语，少用于书面语。nearly 最常与数字连用 ：◆ There were nearly 200 people at the meeting. 与会者有近 200 人。 They can also be used in negative sentences but it is more common to make a positive sentence with only just .三词亦可用于否定句，但是用 only just 构成肯定句更常见 ：◆ We only just got there in time. or 或 ：◆ We almost/nearly didn't get there in time. 我们险些未能及时赶到那儿。 Almost andpractically can be used before words likeany ,anybody ,anything , etc.* almost 和 practically 均可用于 any、anybody、anything 等词前 ：◆ I'll eat almost anything. 我几乎吃什么都行。 You can also use them before no ,nobody ,never , etc. but it is much more common to usehardly orscarcely withany ,anybody ,ever , etc.这两个词亦可用于 no、nobody、never 等词前，但是这类情况更常用 hardly 或 scarcely 与 any、anybody、ever 等词搭配 ：◆ She's hardly ever in. or 或 ：◆ She's almost never in. 她几乎从来不在家。 Almost can be used when you are saying that one thing is similar to another.表示某物与另一物相似可用 almost ：◆ The boat looked almost like a toy. 这船看上去简直像个玩具。 In BrE very andso beforenearly .在英式英语中，nearly 前可用 very 和 so ：◆ He was very nearly caught. 他差点儿被抓住。