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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Still, a $10/barrel increase in oil prices equates to roughly $35 billion in higher household expenditures, or about 0.1% of GDP. Michael Lynch, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025 The ball bounced a few times before eventually rolling roughly three feet into the cup. Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 14 June 2025 The association, which was founded in response to the devastating use of nuclear weapons by the U.S. on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII, says there are roughly 9,614 in military stockpiles capable of use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines. Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 14 June 2025 The concept of humans possessing an internal calendar that was somehow capable of determining when roughly a month had gone by was too absurd to be believed—particularly from the person who had helped convince me for half my young life that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny were real. Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 14 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for roughly

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

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Cite this Entry

“Roughly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roughly. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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