virtually

adverb

vir·​tu·​al·​ly ˈvər-chə-wə-lē 

-chə-lē;

ˈvərch-wə-lē

1

a

: almost entirely : nearly

The project is virtually complete.

Virtually every applicant was overqualified for the job.

b

: for all practical purposes

She was virtually unknown prior to starring in the film.

It is virtually impossible to know the truth of the matter.

2

: by means of a computer or computer network : in a virtual location

The meeting is being held virtually.

They did all their shopping virtually.

Synonyms

• practically
• almost
• nearly

Examples of virtually in a Sentence

We spent virtually all day shopping.

The stadium was virtually empty by the time the game ended.

I remember virtually everything he said.

That illness is virtually unknown in this area.

Recent Examples on the Web

This model is designed for touring with a whole lotta luggage and a pillion passenger without breaking a sweat, and looking good doing it – albeit also looking virtually the same as the 2023 edition. —Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2025

The gamebreaker has already broken virtually every single-season team record, including a franchise-record 47 goals and 108 points in 2021-22. —Michael Russo, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025

The vote has remained virtually unchanged, other than absences, since the shutdown started last Wednesday. —The Hill Staff, The Hill, 7 Oct. 2025

According to his LinkedIn profile, the mechanical engineer joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 and has overseen hardware engineering for virtually every major product in the company’s current portfolio. —Dave Smith, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1b