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

See Examples For:

at best

Leaving the Spanish capital - even for a club as illustrious at Arsenal - would be viewed as, at best, a sidewards step.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

“Pretending we may never need care is naive at best and can bankrupt your entire family if you don’t have a plan,” wrote Mim Senft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

Unlike the other peptides, there are some studies assessing its clinical effectiveness; however, they were all conducted in the ’80s and ’90s, and the FDA described the results as “inconclusive and at best preliminary.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

This may have been England's best World Cup for 60 years, but at best it was par for the course and at worst a failure.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Their minds were fuzzy at best, like the ghosts Frank had seen in Asphodel, but they remembered one thing clearly: they were supposed to protect their eagle.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• at least
• partially
• slightly
• somewhat