almost

Etymology

From Middle English [Term?], from Old English eallmǣst (“nearly all, almost, for the most part”), equivalent to al- (“all”) + most.

adv

1. Very close to, but not quite.
   Almost all people went there. (not all but very close to it)
   We almost missed the train. (not missed but very close to it)
   In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised. 2013-05-17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19
2. (mathematics) Up to, except for a negligible set (where negligible is not universally but contextually defined).
   almost all
   almost no
   1. (measure theory, probability theory) Up to a null set; except for a set of measure 0.
      almost everywhere
      almost nowhere
      almost certain
      almost sure

noun

1. (informal) Something or someone that doesn't quite make it.
   In all the submissions, they found four papers that were clearly worth publishing and another dozen almosts.