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:
Dries van Noten's Julian Klausner paid homage to the 1990s/early noughties with his maxi denim skirts with the must-have high split.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
“Every single day I was on it, all day long,” the Chico, Calif., woman said Thursday, her voice tremulous and her cheeks flushed to the color of her rose maxi dress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
“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
Ms. Tillman, the aspiring equine veterinarian from Detroit, eventually replaced the helmet she’d stuffed with maxi pads with a new one, cutting pieces of the lining out until it nestled comfortably on her head.
From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2023
I put the skinny blonde in flat white sandals, a braided coronet, and a red maxi covered with white paisleys.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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
Now, the entire crypto market is going haywire, and maxis are running wild with speculation on what’s going on.
From Slate ● Nov. 8, 2022
The maxis continued buying Bitcoin even after its price plummeted to an 18-month low of roughly $20,000 in June.
From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2022
Bitcoin maxis do not want to talk about cryptocurrencies or Web3.
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
Definitions 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.
