adjective,superl. of muchor manywith moreas compar.
in the greatest quantity, amount, measure, degree, or number: to win the most votes.
in the majority of instances: Most operations are successful.
greatest, as in size or extent: the most talent.
noun
the greatest quantity, amount, or degree; the utmost: The most I can hope for is a passing grade.
the greatest number or the majority of a class specified: Most of his writing is rubbish.
the greatest number: The most this room will seat is 150.
the majority of persons: to be more sensitive than most.
the most,Slang. the ultimate in something: He's the most. That movie was the most.
adverb,superl. of muchwith moreas compar.
in or to the greatest extent or degree (in this sense often used before adjectives and adverbs, and regularly before those of more than two syllables, to form superlative phrases having the same force and effect as the superlative degree formed by the termination -est): most rapid; most wisely.
11. The adverb most, a shortened form of almost, is far from being either a recent development or an Americanism. It goes back to the 16th century in England, where it is now principally a dialect form. In American English it occurs before such pronouns as all, anyone, anybody, everyone, and everybody; the adjectives all, any, and every; and adverbs like anywhere and everywhere: Most everyone around here is related to everyone else. You can find that plant most anywhere. This use of most is often objected to, but it is common in the informal speech of educated persons. It is less common in edited writing except in representations of speech.
a great majority of; nearly allmost people like eggs
(as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural)most of them don't know; most of it is finished
the most
the superlative of many, muchyou have the most money; the most apples
(as pronoun)the most he can afford is two pounds
at mostorat the mostat the maximumthat girl is four at the most
for the most partgenerally
make the most ofto use to the best advantageshe makes the most of her accent
than mostthan most othersthe leaves are greener than most
the mostslang, mainlyUSwonderfulthat chick's the most
adverb
the mostused to form the superlative of some adjectives and adverbsthe most beautiful daughter of all
the superlative of muchpeople welcome a drink most after work
(intensifier)a most absurd story
US and Canadianinformal, ordialectalmostmost every town in this state; John is the more intelligent of the two; he is the most intelligent of the students
Word Origin for most
Old English māst or mǣst, whence Middle English moste, mēst; compare Old Frisian maest, Old High German meist, Old Norse mestr
usage
More and most should be distinguished when used in comparisons. More applies to cases involving two persons, objects, etc, most to cases involving three or more
Old English mast "greatest number, amount, extent," earlier mæst, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz (cf. Old Saxon mest, Old Frisian mast, Old Norse mestr, Dutch meest, German meist, Gothic maists "most"), superlative form of Proto-Germanic *maiz, root of Old English ma, mara (see more). Used in Old English as superlative of micel "great, large" (see mickle). Vowel influenced by more. Original sense of "greatest" survives in phrase for the most part (c.1400). Slang meaning "the best, extremely good" is attested from 1953. Also used as an adverb in Old English. Phrase make the most of (something) is by 1520s. Related: Mostly. Double superlative mostest is 1885, from U.S. Southern and Black English.
Also, at the most or at the outside. At the largest amount, the furthest limit; also, in the most extreme case. For example, She'll be finished in two weeks at the most, or It'll take two weeks at the outside, or At most the chef uses a tiny bit of pepper. The terms with most date from the 1300s; at the outside from the mid-1800s. Also see at best.
