at most

Idioms  

1. Also,. 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.

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Example Sentences

In both cases, oil production was severely affected in a couple of countries at most.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

But California has built, at most, only 34 projects since 2015, and experts say that’s a generous accounting.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026

Emeritus status is selective and requires approval at most universities.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

"Hence, the overall impact on growth, unemployment, inflation, or any other economic variable, as well as on the monetary and fiscal outlooks, should prove minimal at most."

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

New Hampshire’s Mount Washington is still an imposing presence, but the stony mass that rises from the New England woods today represents, at most, the stubby bottom one-third of what was ten million years ago.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• alone
• entirely
• hardly
• merely
• particularly
• purely
• simply
• solely