the limit

Idioms  

1. The most extreme; someone or something that irritates, delights, or surprises to the ultimate degree. For example, Hiring and firing someone the same day—that's the limit in employee relations! or That excuse of yours for missing the wedding, that's the limit, or He's done wonders before but this last one is the limit. This idiom uses limit as “the last possible point or boundary.” [Colloquial; c. 1900]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

the limit

"Elias 2-24 b is at the limit of what current telescopes can detect, but with new instruments like NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, such detections should become easier."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

A handful of undercard fighters weighed in after Benn while Garcia was still nowhere to be seen, prompting questions about whether the Californian was having difficulties making the limit.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Record passenger numbers at Greece's airports pushed its air traffic control system to the limit, especially during the peak season.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

“Sky’s the limit, I think. As long as we continue to buy into what Coach Ches says, sky’s the limit.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

It’s like that song lyric she quoted in one of her videos: “Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• exuberance
• glut
• overkill
• surplus
• waste