at best

Idioms  

1. Under the most favorable circumstances, as in At best we'll be just one week behind schedule, or Cleaning out the attic is a tedious job at best. This idiom, formerly also put as at the best, today is most often used in situations that are actually far from ideal, as in the examples above. [First half of 1300s] For an antonym, see at worst.

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Example Sentences

But the idea that banks ought not to conduct commerce is at best only a partial explanation of crises gone by.

From Barron's

The “real, factual data” that underpinned Leavitt’s statement was specious at best.

From Salon

His credentials for the Celtic job were, at best, thin, despite the excited rhetoric of some observers in America, who painted him as a special one and his capture as a coup.

From BBC

The year has felt like a century, at best, and just when things were supposed to wind down and get quiet, a weekend of tumult and tragedy reminded the world just how much we’re suffering.

From Salon

The slump seemed to hinge on an economic data dump that proved a mixed bag, at best.

From Barron's

Related Words

• at least
• partially
• slightly
• somewhat