Meanings
adverb
- Not by a large margin, not nearly, not at all.
He's not bad, but he's nowhere near as good as me.
2 more examples
We have nowhere near enough money to buy you a car.
England, defensively, were not good enough - nowhere near the standard that would be acceptable at the highest international level.
2019 September 10, Phil McNulty, “'England horribly fallible in defence' against Kosovo in Euro 2020 qualifying”, in BBC Sport
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
Presumably a reformation of Old English nāhwǣr nēah (literally “nowhere nigh”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
nowhere near. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nowhere%20near
MLA
“nowhere near.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nowhere%20near. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nowhere near,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nowhere%20near.
Source: nowhere near on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.