maxi
noun
maxi
1 American
[mak-see]
/ ˈmæk si /
maxi-
2
American
maxi
British
/ ˈmæksɪ /
adjective
noun
Usage
What does maxi- mean? Maxi- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “very large” or "of great scope or intensity." It is occasionally used in a variety of everyday terms, especially in fashion. Maxi- comes from a shortening of maximal or maximum, meaning "greatest possible." The word maximum comes from Latin maximus, the superlative form of magnus, meaning "great" or "large." This Latin word is also related to the root of the terms maxim, "an expression of a general truth or principle," and major “greater in size.” Learn more at our entries for maxim and major.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of maxi1
1965–70; shortening of maxiskirt, or independent use of maxi-
Origin of maxi-2
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.
See Examples For:
Kaley G.M., the 20-year-old plaintiff, arrived in court just before 10 a.m. wearing the same rose-colored maxi dress she’d donned to testify in February.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
In August's print edition of Vogue, a Guess advert features a flawless blonde model showing off a striped maxi dress and a floral playsuit from the brand's summer collection.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2025
The suits, maxi skirts, and voluminous sleeves of the era marked not just a trend, analysts predicted, but a lasting shift in what women wanted fashion to be.
From Slate ● Dec. 14, 2024
“We tell folks if you’re soaking through a maxi pad, two, in an hour to two hours, they should seek help.”
From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2024
Kainene looked even thinner next to Olanna, almost androgynous, her tight maxi outlining the boyishness of her hips.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
And as the minis proliferate, maxi- audiences are becoming harder to woo.
From Time Magazine Archive
Rival super maxis Andoo Comanche and LawConnect remained neck-and-neck in the early hours of Wednesday as the fleet began to pass Eden on the New South Wales south coast before heading into Bass Strait.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 26, 2023
Do the maxis know something the others don’t?
From Slate ● Dec. 15, 2022
Still, the maxis have seized on the downturn to make the case that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency worth taking seriously.
From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2022
Bitcoin maxis generally believe some or all of the following: Bitcoin is better than other coins such as Ethereum because its supply is fixed at 21 million Bitcoin, making it anti-inflationary.
From The Verge ● Apr. 28, 2022
“Ethereum maxis, people who believe in ‘the flippening’, believe it will come very soon,” said Acheson at Genesis Trading.
From Reuters ● Apr. 26, 2022
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
