1. (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; `near' is sometimes used informally for `nearly' and `most' is sometimes used informally for `almost';
"the job is (just) about done""the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded""we're almost finished""the car all but ran her down""he nearly fainted""talked for nigh onto 2 hours""the recording is well-nigh perfect""virtually all the parties signed the contract""I was near exhausted by the run""most everyone agrees"
2. in a close manner;
"the two phenomena are intimately connected""the person most nearly concerned"