roughly

adverb

rough·​ly ˈrə-flē How to pronounce roughly (audio)
1
: in a rough manner: such as
a
: with harshness or violence
treated the prisoner roughly
b
: in crude fashion : imperfectly
roughly dressed lumber
2
: without completeness or exactness : approximately
roughly 20 percent

Examples of roughly in a Sentence

Roughly translated, it means “hurry up!”. The new product is modeled roughly on an earlier design. He threw the package roughly in the truck. The guard told us roughly that we had to stand back.
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.
Bloom operated at a $29 million net loss in 2024, improved from a roughly $300 million loss in 2023. Jordan Blum, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2025 The county is facing a roughly $1 billion annual hole in its budget in the coming years as a result of recent federal cuts to Medicaid. Grace Hase, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025 After roughly a week on the lunar surface, the astronauts would fly Starship back into lunar orbit and reboard Orion for the return trip to Earth. Denise Chow, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2025 With price tags swinging between 250 euros for blouses to roughly 3,000 euros for gowns, Amen collections are available at 80 doors globally, with the biggest part of the distribution network concentrated in Italy. Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for roughly

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of roughly was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Roughly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roughly. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.

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