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 There was the sluggish version — a team playing on the second night of a back-to-back that arrived at its Washington D.C. hotel at roughly 2 a.m. after blowing out the Toronto Raptors the night before. Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 23 Mar. 2024 The funding that was set to expire on March 22 covers agencies that represent roughly 70 percent of the federal government. Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2024 Hazy skies also obscure the views of the national parks’ natural beauty: The report found that on average, visitors miss out on roughly 50 miles of scenery because of air pollution. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Mar. 2024 Around 57 million people were exposed to levels that breached the WHO’s 10 microgram guidelines, the study found — roughly 45% of the population. Laura Paddison, CNN, 22 Mar. 2024 There’s some press conjecture that the transaction will relieve Trump’s current cash crunch, which includes the necessity of his posting a bond to cover a roughly $500-million court judgment by Monday to stave off the seizure of some of his properties by New York Atty. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024 The survey, conducted among roughly 1,050 parents and caregivers of children 6 to 18, complements separate polls that asked parents about their kids’ performance since the pandemic. USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024 Even so, flying at Mach 1.7 only over water would roughly halve the duration of flights between New York to London or Seattle to Tokyo. Tim Stevens, The Verge, 22 Mar. 2024 Officials there say thousands of the camp’s roughly 33,000 residents were employed in Israel before the attack, mostly as construction workers. Claire Parker, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'roughly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near roughly

Cite this Entry

“Roughly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roughly. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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