in the least

Idioms

Also, in the slightest. At all, in the smallest degree. These terms are nearly always used in a negative context. For example, I don't care in the least what you do with the money, or It doesn't matter in the slightest whether or not you attend. [c. 1600] They may also be put as not in the least or not in the slightest, as in I am not in the least worried about the outcome, or The heat doesn't bother me in the slightest. In the least dates from about 1600; in the slightest has been used in the sense of “emphatically unimportant or trifling” since the late 1500s.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Coordinated expenditure limits last year for Senate candidates ranged from $123,600 in the least populated states to $3,772,100 in the most.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

American carries more debt than Delta or United, but it also has the newest fleet among the three and is probably in the least rush to replace aging jets.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 28, 2025

And then when I wrote it, I was like, I’ve never heard anything like this before — in the least big-headed way possible.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2025

Therefore, we should not be in the least surprised to hear shortly of a deal between Maxwell and the government.

From Slate • Jul. 25, 2025

So when Anne was born, in New York, Dad was not in the least bit disappointed, because he had known all along she would be a girl.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023