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

MCC Laws manager Fraser Stewart said the move comes following considerable time testing the bats in conjunction with manufacturers and any performance advantage from Type D bats will be "marginal at best".

From BBC

The dollar’s position both reflects and influences policy—chaotic at best at the moment—and can affect asset-allocation decisions.

From Barron's

They might simply be scooping up gold expecting that worried central banks will intensify their buying at a still-higher price, but at best that’s a hope.

From The Wall Street Journal

She barely appears alongside her husband, and when she does, her body language often reads as reluctant at best, contemptuous at worst.

From Salon

Plenty of evidence suggests that exchange-rate swings produce at best very short-term shifts in economic activity—before domestic inflation and deflation offset the effects.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• at least
• partially
• slightly
• somewhat