roughly

adverb

rough·​ly ˈrə-flē 

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

Synonyms of roughly

• approximately
• about
• around

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

Amazon’s staggering jobs cuts this week, the second wave since October, brings the commerce giant’s recent layoffs to roughly 9% of its corporate workforce. —Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 31 Jan. 2026

The company is now seeking a 24-month extension, to July 2028, or for the FCC to waive its deadline requiring Amazon to get roughly half of its 3,236 low Earth satellites up. —Annie Palmer, CNBC, 31 Jan. 2026

Astronauts in space, likewise, lack the protection of Earth’s atmosphere, and are struck by roughly 5000 cosmic ray particles per second, feeling absolutely none of them. —Big Think, 30 Jan. 2026

Records reviewed by the Tribune show that Deenihan has cleared 51 cases since 2012 — roughly the time he was assigned to Area 1 — more than any other CPD detective but one. —Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roughly

• gruffly