Dictionary.com

in the worst way

Desperately, very much, as in He wanted a new trumpet in the worst way. This usage replaced worst kind. [Colloquial; second half of 1800s]

QUIZZES

DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!

We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
owl
crow
piranha
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby in the worst way

in the way, in the wind, in the wings, in the works, in the world, in the worst way, in the wrong, in this day and age, In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes, inthral, inthrone
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.