From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishalmostal‧most /ˈɔːlməʊst $ ˈɒːlmoʊst, ɒːlˈmoʊst/ ●●● S1 W1 adverb ALMOSTnearly, but not completely or not quite 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.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 quiteI’ve almost finished my essay.It's almost lunchtime.nearly almost. Nearly is more commonly used in British English than American EnglishI’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 nearlyThe room was practically empty. | practically all/everything/everyone etcThe 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 importantAll 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 etcIt’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 lateIt 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 nearerThe unemployment rate was nearing 20%.be on the verge of (doing) something to be very close to doing somethingShe 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 situationThe two countries are on the brink of war.The company was on the brink of bankruptcy.
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” 