nigh on

phrase

Almost, nearly; approaching; not quite.

“I walked for nigh on to three hours.”

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Meanings

phrase
  1. Almost, nearly; approaching; not quite.

    I walked for nigh on to three hours.

    3 more examples

    I had been working in this industry for nigh on twelve years when it happened.

    “[…]They say he has sold himself to the devil for a pretty face. It’s nigh on eighteen years since I met him. He hasn’t changed much since then. I have, though,” she added, with a sickly leer.

    1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter XVI, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC

    I’ve shoveled up the gypsum till it nigh on makes you choke.

    1964, Ron Angel, “The ICI Song”

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
all butalmostmore or lesswell-nigh
Cite this entry
APA

nigh on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nigh%20on

MLA

“nigh on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nigh%20on. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nigh on,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nigh%20on.

Source: nigh on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.