maximal

American  

[mak-suh-muhl] / ˈmæk sə məl /

adjective

1. of or being a maximum; greatest possible; highest.

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maximal British  

/ ˈmæksɪməl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or achieving a maximum; being the greatest or best possible

2. maths (of a member of an ordered set) being preceded, in order, by all other members of the set

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• postmaximal
  adjective
• submaximal
  adjective
• maximally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of maximal

First recorded in 1880–85; maxim(um) + -al ¹

Explanation

Maximal means the greatest, best, or largest amount of something. The maximal speed of your friend's junky car might be forty miles per hour. The adjective maximal is the opposite of the more common minimal. Your idea of sleeping in maximal comfort might include a soft comforter and lots of pillows, and you might try, when you're running on a treadmill, to get your heartbeat to its maximal rate for several minutes. Maximal has a Latin root, maximus, or "greatest," which in turn comes from magnus, "great or large."

Example Sentences

And our ability to recruit muscle cells for maximal effort also declines.

From Barron's • May 23, 2026

“So it’s reasonable for the medical personnel to take maximal precautions so that they don’t contract it,” Iovine said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

"Despite a maximal antibiotics regime, intubation, ventilation and intensive medical support, Rochester continued to deteriorate," the coroner said.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

His own style, which is to say his mind, was compulsively metaphorical, gorgeously maximal, enough so to make him worry about “an implicit marvelling at myself as expressor.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

The problem, you realize, is that while you have been raised to speak quietly and little, the notions of where you come from and who you are need a maximal approach.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee