almost

Name: almost, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈɔːl.məʊst/

//ˈɔːl.məʊst// adv

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“almost” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #395. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#395
frequency rank, English: 3,931
“A” headwords: 9
tracked misspellings: 7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Very close to, but not quite.

Corpus desk

Index EN-almost · almost · English

almost · rank #395 · 9 variants · 7 confusables

FREQ-CORE #395
LEN-LONG 6 letters
VOW-2 2 vowels
CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
VAR-MID 9 variants
BOOK-MID 3,931
PHOTO-FINISH we're

Nearest frequency peer: we're (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

south

99,609
true

99,608
we're

99,607
almost

99,606
fuck

99,605
history

99,604

What this shows Bars show where “almost” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

almost vs alot

67% similar

almost vs Amos

50% similar

almost vs alms

67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for almost
Property	Value
Headword	almost
Language	English
Part of speech	Adverb
IPA	/ˈɔːl.məʊst/
Letters	6
Frequency rank	#395
Misspellings tracked	9
Confusable pairs	7
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “almost” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).almostlands here:

#395

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “we're” (#394), “fuck” (#396), “true” (#393). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around almost (IPA /ˈɔːl.məʊst/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #395 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for almost, with forms such as "allmost", "almmost", and "almosst". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "alot", "Amos", "alms", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-Germanic *ala- Proto-West Germanic *ala- Old English æl- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *mais… The correct English form is almost, spelled A-L-M-O-S-T.

Definition

1
Very close to, but not quite.
2
Up to, except for a negligible set (where negligible is not universally but contextually defined).
3
Up to, except for a negligible set (where negligible is not universally but contextually defined).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how almost appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

Almost all people went there.
We almost missed the train.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-Germanic *ala- Proto-West Germanic *ala- Old English æl- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Old English eallmǣst Middle English almost English almost From Middle English almost, from Old English eallmǣst (“nearly all, almost, for the most part”), equivalent to al- (“all”) + most.

Synonyms

nearly nigh well-nigh near close to next to practically virtually not yet not all but almost as good asas near as makes no differencefornigh just about more or lessnear as damn itnigh on nighwhat not quite pretty muchtantamount to

Antonyms

mostly somewhat slightly very

This word in other languages

casi(Español)presque(Français)fast(Deutsch)quase(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

allmost
almmost
almosst
almostt
almots
almsot
alomst
amlost
lamost

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of almost - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "almost"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "almost"?

"almost" is spelled A-L-M-O-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔːl.məʊst/.

What does "almost" mean?

As an adverb, "almost" means: Very close to, but not quite.

What words are commonly confused with "almost"?

"almost" is commonly confused with "alot", "Amos", "alms". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "almost"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "almost" is /ˈɔːl.məʊst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "almost"?

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "almost", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

office#389 taking#406 coming#383 become#381

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

single9 variants friend9 variants others9 variants saying9 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "almost". Here's where to go from here.

"almost" maps to 7 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "alot". View pair
9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
Usage frequency rank #395 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.