- superlative of bad.
worst
Americanadjective
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bad or ill in the highest, greatest, or most extreme degree.
the worst person.
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most faulty, unsatisfactory, or objectionable.
the worst paper submitted.
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most unfavorable or injurious.
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in the poorest condition.
the worst house on the block.
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most unpleasant, unattractive, or disagreeable.
the worst personality I've ever known.
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most lacking in skill; least skilled.
He’s the worst player on the team.
noun
adverb
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in the most evil, wicked, severe, or disadvantageous manner.
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with the most severity, intensity, etc.; in the greatest degree.
verb (used with object)
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worsts,
present (3rd person singular)
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worsted,
past participle, past
-
worsting
present participle
idioms
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if worst comes to worst, if the very worst happens.
If worst comes to worst, we still have some money in reserve.
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in the worst way, in an extreme degree; very much: Also the worst way.
She wanted a new robe for Christmas in the worst way.
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get the worst of, to be defeated in; experience the most harm from.
New Jersey got the worst of the storm.
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at worst, if the worst happens; under the worst conditions: Also at the worst.
He will be expelled from school, at worst.
adjective
adverb
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in the most extreme or bad manner or degree
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least well, suitably, or acceptably
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(in combination) in or to the smallest degree or extent; least
worst-loved
noun
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the least good or most inferior person, thing, or part in a group, narrative, etc
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(often preceded by at) the most poor, unpleasant, or unskilled quality or condition
television is at its worst these days
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the greatest amount of damage or wickedness of which a person or group is capable
the invaders came and did their worst
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the weakest effort or poorest achievement that a person or group is capable of making
the applicant did his worst at the test because he did not want the job
-
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in the least favourable interpretation or view
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under the least favourable conditions
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if all the more desirable alternatives become impossible or if the worst possible thing happens
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to enjoy the least benefit from an issue or be defeated in it
verb
Usage
What is a basic definition of worst? Worst describes something as being bad in the highest degree possible. Worst is also used to mean a thing that is the baddest possible and to mean something done in the baddest manner possible. Worst has several other senses as an adjective, adverb, noun, and verb. Worst is a superlative of the word bad. Simply put, worst describes something as being the baddest out of a group, category, list, and the like. This can mean something is most evil, is least skilled, is most unsatisfactory, is of the poorest quality, or is most unpleasant. What someone thinks of as the worst something depends on what they’re judging that thing on. As with bad, worst is often a person’s opinion.
- Real-life examples: Everybody has a movie that they think is the worst (poorest quality or most unpleasant to watch) movie ever made. The worst student in a class could be the one who scores the lowest on tests or the one who misbehaves the most. A runner who records the worst time in a race is the one who ran the slowest. The worst person you know might be the one with the most unpleasant personality or who treats you the most poorly.
- Used in a sentence: Jessica got a 50 on the test, making her grade the worst in the class.
- Real-life examples: A person who is the least skilled at painting among a group of painters is the worst. A pie that is the least pleasant to eat out of a group of pies is the worst.
- Used in a sentence: I have played a lot of bad video games, but that one is the worst of them all.
- Used in a sentence: We didn’t get any runners on base, making today’s baseball game the worst one this year.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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worstsimple
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worstssimple
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have worstedperfect
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has worstedperfect
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am worstingprogressive
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are worstingprogressive
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is worstingprogressive
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have been worstingperfect progressive
-
has been worstingperfect progressive
Past
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worstedsimple
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had worstedperfect
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was worstingprogressive
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were worstingprogressive
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had been worstingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of worst
First recorded before 900; Middle English worste (adjective, adverb, and noun), Old English wur(re)sta, wyr(re)st, wer(re)sta (adjective and adverb); cognate with Old Norse verstr; see worse, -est 1
Explanation
The adjective worst describes the thing that is the least good, like this awful pizza, the worst we've ever had in our lives. Worst means "the least favorable outcome." You may have heard the saying "hope for the best but expect the worst." Well, it you get the worst, you know there is nothing more bad than that. If you are at your worst, you have never before felt or performed this poorly. Don't confuse worst with worse, which compares only two things. Your cold might be worse than your brother's but dad's is the worst of all.
Vocabulary lists containing worst
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Dubai has kept flights going this year even during the worst of the Iran war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
"I adapted myself for the city and started bringing out the kind of worst side of myself."
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
"It's the worst thing – injury aside – that you can experience as a footballer," Ziane tells BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
But as Jack Reacher says, hope for the best, and plan for the worst.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
The climb that followed was to him like the worst of nightmares.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Wacha allowed season worsts of six earned runs and three home runs against Baltimore in his previous start.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2022
His .162 batting average, .237 on-base percentage and .276 slugging percentage were all league-wide worsts among players who batted at least 200 times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2017
Blaine Gabbert or Colin Kaepernick failed to provide strong quarterback play, Niners lacked any big-play receivers, defense set franchise worsts for most points, yards and yards rushing allowed in single season.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 20, 2017
He finished with a .229 batting average and .616 OPS, both career worsts.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 9, 2016
It seems like a long list of worsts.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
He often mixed silk and wool or silk and linen for a softer alternative to the heavy, stiff gabardines and worsted wools that were typical for men’s suits and jackets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025
Rolls upon rolls of flannel, worsted wool and cashmere are stacked in a space the size of a football field.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 20, 2017
Dark gray, worsted wool, jackets with rows of brass.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 3, 2017
She took photographs and wrote poetry; in 1938, The New York Times published her ode to “a day for dreaming in the sun, for telling worsted tales, for languid ease.”
From New York Times ● May 26, 2016
It was a very nice suit: French, light gray, worsted wool with double cuffs.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
He fought with two knights who asked the lady Canacê to wife, the terms being that none should have her till he had succeeded in worsting Camballo in combat.
From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
In the fighting of that day James Douglas, the second son of the fat Earl of Avondale, won the prize, worsting his elder brother William in the final encounter.
From The Black Douglas by Frank Richards
He was the first to speak, and, in doing so, he felt he was acknowledging his worsting in the encounter.
From The Law-Breakers by Ridgwell Cullum
Ah, Julia remembered now, and with the recollection of the principal's words came the means of worsting Grace Harlowe in her efforts to vindicate Anne.
From Grace Harlowe's Sophomore Year at High School The Record of the Girl Chums in Work and Athletics by Jessie Graham [pseud.] Flower
Yet, in fact, there had not been a disaster, but only a moderate worsting of the Federal army, resulting in its retirement a trifling distance to the place whence its opponents had just marched out.
From Abraham Lincoln, Volume II by John T. (John Torrey) Morse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
