barely

adverb

bare·​ly ˈber-lē How to pronounce barely (audio)
1
: in a meager manner : plainly
a barely furnished room
2
: scarcely, hardly
barely enough money for lunch

Examples of barely in a Sentence

We barely spoke the entire time we were in the car. There are barely any new features in this software. There is barely a difference between the two.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The irony was unmistakable: a man who barely spoke in interviews, who shrank from the stage, whose music sidestepped every commercial instinct of his time, was now the soundtrack to a car commercial. arkansasonline.com, 5 July 2025 The Dow Jones industrial average barely cracked 1,000 that year, versus its current level of 44,000-plus. The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 July 2025 The bill barely made it out of the Senate earlier in the week. Brian Bennett, Time, 3 July 2025 House approval of the Senate text Thursday morning occurred barely 24 hours after the upper chamber’s vote. Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for barely

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of barely was circa 1513

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Cite this Entry

“Barely.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barely. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.

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