The meaning of BARELY is in a meager manner : plainly. How to use barely in a sentence.

They have barely enough (= no more than what is needed) to pay the rent this month. She was barely (= only just) 15 when she won her first championship.

Barely is an adverb. It has a totally different meaning from bare. You use barely to say that something is only just true or possible. For example, if you can barely do something, you can …

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025 bare•ly (bâr′ lē), adv. only just; scarcely; no more than; almost not: He had barely enough money to pay for …

Dec 2, 2025 · barely (comparative more barely, superlative most barely) (not comparable, degree) By a small margin. quotations I barely completed my homework. However, I got a score of 5 for it.

Definition of barely adverb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

BARELY meaning: 1 : hardly or scarcely used to say that something was almost not possible or almost did not happen; 2 : used to say that someone or something only has a specified small …

You use barely to say that something is only just true or only just the case. Anastasia could barely remember the ride to the hospital. It was 90 degrees and the air conditioning barely cooled the …

Definition of barely. English dictionary and integrated thesaurus for learners, writers, teachers, and students with advanced, intermediate, and beginner levels.

Something barely there is hardly there at all. If there are barely any leaves on the trees, then winter is right around the corner.