almost nothing
almost nothing — idiom
1. used to say that the amount, knowledge, effect, or difference is extremely small
used to say that the amount, knowledge, effect, or difference is extremely small and close to zero
After paying the rent, Talia had almost nothing left for food.
have almost nothing left for + purpose
In the village shop, almost nothing cost more than ten dollars.
cost almost nothing for a very low price
Ayana knew almost nothing about skiing before the mountain trip.
know almost nothing about + topic
By noon, the class had learned almost nothing from the broken projector.
learn almost nothing from + source
After the storm, almost nothing remained in the garden shed.
- have almost nothing left
- know almost nothing about
- learn almost nothing from
- cost almost nothing
- almost nothing remained
- hardly anything
very close in meaning and common in everyday speech
- very little
more often used for uncountable amounts than for knowledge or results
- next to nothing
slightly more emphatic and often a little more informal
- quite a lot
neutral opposite for a clearly noticeable amount
- plenty
stresses that there is more than enough
Grammar Patterns
have almost nothing left
know almost nothing about + topic
learn almost nothing from + source
almost nothing remained
Usage Note
Often follows verbs such as have, know, learn, or remain. It usually points to an amount, level of knowledge, or result that is treated as nearly zero.
Common Mistakes
Etymology
The phrase combines 'almost', meaning not completely, with 'nothing', meaning no thing or no amount. English speakers use the pair to stress that an amount or result is very close to zero.