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only

adverb
 
 
/ˈəʊn.li/ US  /ˈoʊn-/

Definition

only just B1 used to refer to something that happens almost immediately after something else: People were leaving and I'd only just arrived. We'd only just set off when the car broke down.In the past almost not: There was only just enough food to go round. We arrived in time for our flight, but only just (= but we almost did not).Merely and barelyAlmost
(Definition of only adverb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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