Definition of nearly adverb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

nearly

adverb

/ˈnɪəli/

/ˈnɪrli/

Idioms

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almost; not quite; not completely
- The bottle's nearly empty.
- I've worked here for nearly two years.
- It's nearly time to leave.
- The audience was nearly all men.
- He's nearly as tall as you are.
- They're nearly always late.
- She very nearly died.
- It's nearly impossible to get tickets for her gigs.
- Sales have nearly doubled this year.
Which Word? almost / nearly / practically
almost / nearly / practicallyThese three words have similar meanings and are used frequently with the following words:
almost ~ nearly ~ practically ~
certainly (numbers) all
all all every
every always no
entirely every nothing
impossible finished impossible
empty died anything
- They are used in positive sentences:
  She almost/nearly/practically missed her train.
  They can be used before words like all, every and everybody:
  Nearly all the students have bikes.
  I’ve got practically every CD they’ve made.
  Practically is used more in spoken than in written English. Nearly is the most common with numbers:
  There were nearly 200 people at the meeting.
  They can also be used in negative sentences but it is more common to make a positive sentence with only just:
  We only just got there in time.
  (or:
  We almost/nearly didn’t get there in time.
  )
- Almost and practically can be used before words like any, anybody, anything, etc:
  I’ll eat almost anything.
  You can also use them before no, nobody, never, etc. but it is much more common to use hardly or scarcely with any, anybody, ever, etc:
  She’s hardly ever in
  (or:
  She’s almost never in
  ).
- Almost can be used when you are saying that one thing is similar to another:
  The boat looked almost like a toy.
- In British English you can use very and so before nearly:
  He was very nearly caught.
Extra Examples
- She nearly missed her train.
- There were nearly 200 people at the meeting.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Nearly is used with these adjectives:
asleep
bald
bankrupt
…
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almost ~	nearly ~	practically ~
certainly	(numbers)	all
all	all	every
every	always	no
entirely	every	nothing
impossible	finished	impossible
empty	died	anything

Idioms

not nearly

much less than; not at all
- It's not nearly as hot as last year.
- There isn't nearly enough time to get there now.

pretty nearly (British English)

(North American English pretty near)

(also pretty much/well British and North American English)

(informal) almost; almost completely
- The first stage is pretty nearly finished.

See nearly in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee nearly in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Check pronunciation: nearly

Other results

All matches

pretty nearly

Nearby words

trait

noun

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