1
: in a close manner or relationship
nearly related
2
a
: almost but not quite
nearly identical
nearly a year later
b
: to the least extent
not nearly as good as we expected
Examples of nearly in a Sentence
I see her nearly every day.
We lived there for nearly two years.
Nearly all of us got sick that weekend.
Recent Examples on the Web
Other wolves have followed since then in nearly 100 sightings by CPW annually.
—
Noël Fletcher, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025
Offshore oil spills can be extremely expensive to deal with, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill cost nearly $70 billion to clean up.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 29 Mar. 2025
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after a Delta Air Lines plane nearly crashed midair with a T-38 Air Force jet Friday near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), just months after a January collision at the airport claimed 67 lives.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 29 Mar. 2025
The 31-year-old singer took to Instagram on Friday, March 28, looking nearly unrecognizable, to share a teaser for her upcoming short film Brighter Days Ahead, a companion piece to her Eternal Sunshine Deluxe album.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nearly
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Noël Fletcher, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025
Offshore oil spills can be extremely expensive to deal with, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill cost nearly $70 billion to clean up.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 29 Mar. 2025
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after a Delta Air Lines plane nearly crashed midair with a T-38 Air Force jet Friday near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), just months after a January collision at the airport claimed 67 lives.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 29 Mar. 2025
The 31-year-old singer took to Instagram on Friday, March 28, looking nearly unrecognizable, to share a teaser for her upcoming short film Brighter Days Ahead, a companion piece to her Eternal Sunshine Deluxe album.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nearly
Cite this Entry
“Nearly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nearly. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nearly
adverb
near·ly
ˈni(ə)r-lē 
1
: in a close manner or relationship
nearly related
2
: almost but not quite
nearly the same
nearly missed the train
3
: to the least extent
not nearly enough
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