maximal

American  

[mak-suh-muhl] / ˈmæk sə məl /

adjective

1. of or being a maximum; greatest possible; highest.

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maximal British  

/ ˈmæksɪməl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or achieving a maximum; being the greatest or best possible

2. maths (of a member of an ordered set) being preceded, in order, by all other members of the set

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Other Word Forms

• postmaximal
  adjective
• submaximal
  adjective
• maximally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of maximal

First recorded in 1880–85; maxim(um) + -al ¹

Explanation

Maximal means the greatest, best, or largest amount of something. The maximal speed of your friend's junky car might be forty miles per hour. The adjective maximal is the opposite of the more common minimal. Your idea of sleeping in maximal comfort might include a soft comforter and lots of pillows, and you might try, when you're running on a treadmill, to get your heartbeat to its maximal rate for several minutes. Maximal has a Latin root, maximus, or "greatest," which in turn comes from magnus, "great or large."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

maximal

It’s only a problem if you think the state should orient itself not around encouraging maximal voting but around announcing the count quickly.

From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026

And our ability to recruit muscle cells for maximal effort also declines.

From Barron's ● May 23, 2026

But that moment of maximal British-American political parallel was also, as it happens, the moment when the parallel began to break down.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2026

Upon entering, however, you discover that the house is really a sequence of staged sensations in which detail has been fine-tuned for maximal theatrical effect.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

The problem, you realize, is that while you have been raised to speak quietly and little, the notions of where you come from and who you are need a maximal approach.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee