From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnot quitenot quiteLITTLE/NOT VERYnot completely They weren’t quite ready so we waited in the car. I’m not quite sure where she lives. Dinner’s almost ready, but not quite. → quite
Examples from the Corpus
not quite• "Are you ready?" "Not quite."• The orbits of the planets are almost circular, but not quite.• We haven't quite finished yet.• Figures are fabulous Well ... not quite.• "Is he 60?" "Not quite!"• He didn't say it quite that way, but that's what he meant.• She hasn't quite finished her homework yet.• Later, they were not quite able to fathom this themselves; they sifted through the facts with grave purpose.• The weather was not quite as nice as on our two previous trips, but it kept dry.• That's a good answer but it's not quite correct.• The paint's not quite dry yet.• Give me five minutes - I'm not quite ready.• It's not quite red, it's more like a maroon color.• Not quite right, not quite plain enough or narrow enough, but getting there.• Three other wanderers, not quite so dazed, allowed Billy to tag along.• I'm not quite sure how the system works.• Indirectly, perhaps, but not quite that openly.• It was not quite the end of the world as we know it, but it was close.• But that's not quite the point.• It's not quite time to go yet. 