almost

Very close to being or doing something, but not completely.

• I am almost ready.
• She almost missed the last bus.
• We visit our grandmother almost every weekend.

Similar words: nearly, practically

Common phrases: almost ready, almost finished, almost every day, almost fall

Except for a small set of cases that can be ignored in the situation being discussed.

• The rule holds in almost all cases.
• Almost every point satisfies the condition under our definition of negligible exceptions.
• Here, almost everywhere means we ignore the exceptional points specified earlier.

Common phrases: almost all, almost every, almost everywhere

Except at points belonging to a set with mathematical measure zero.

• The function is zero almost everywhere.
• The sequence converges almost surely.
• Almost all points satisfy this equation, since the exceptions form a set of measure zero.

Common phrases: almost everywhere, almost surely, almost all points

A person or thing that comes close to success or acceptance but does not reach it.

• That attempt was another almost.
• The judges put her painting among the almosts.
• After years of almosts, he finally won a prize.

Similar words: near miss

Common phrases: another almost, an almost