optimal
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of optimal
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How does optimal compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Something that's optimal is the best or most favorable for a given situation. Flowers? Check. Chocolates? Check. Dinner reservation? Check. Sounds like you have the optimal conditions for a successful anniversary date. There's an implication with optimal that certain restrictions exist in a given situation, so that what is optimal isn't necessarily the ideal scenario — it's the best one given those limitations. For example, optimal population levels for a species are not the highest levels — instead they're the best levels that a particular environment can sustain. Often the word optimum is used interchangeably with optimal.
Vocabulary lists containing optimal
What If It's Us
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The Martian
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Apple
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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.
It’s now probably closer to 6,000, far more than the 1,500 deemed optimal for wildlife management and tick control.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
The optimal number is zero, to judge from a new report into the fiasco of a Federal Reserve building project.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
"It's not at all optimal for these boats to set off so far away from their intended destination," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
“I don’t know that the front end is the optimal place to be borrowing right now,” said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
But there is broad consensus about what an optimal range of mobility is.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
