maxim
noun
an expression of a general truth or principle, especially an aphoristic or sententious one.
maxim
1 American
[mak-sim]
/ ˈmæk sɪm /
Maxim
2
American
[mak-sim, ma k-seem, muh-ksyeem]
/ ˈmæk sɪm, makˈsim, mʌˈksjim /
noun
-
Hiram Percy, 1869–1936, U.S. inventor.
-
his father Sir Hiram Stevens, 1840–1916, English inventor, born in the U.S.: inventor of the Maxim gun.
-
Hudson, 1853–1927, U.S. inventor and explosives expert (brother of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim).
-
a male given name, form of Maximilian.
Maxim
1
British
/ ˈmæksɪm /
noun
maxim
2
British
/ ˈmæksɪm /
noun
Usage
What is a maxim? A maxim is a principle or guiding rule. A maxim is a rule, principle, or helpful guide that leads to a general truth, such as “Actions speak louder than words” and “Strive for greatness.”Different fields of philosophy develop many rules or guiding principles based on the founder of that philosophy’s studies. These will often be called maxims and will be attributed to that founder, such as Confucious’s maxims, Marx’s maxims, and Voltaire’s maxims. Maxim also describes a written or understood rule of conduct, as discussed within an organization. For example, a science lab may discuss a maxim of always keeping goggles on in certain areas of the lab. Example: My aunt, who was a short woman, often quoted the maxim “good things come in small packages.”
Synonym Usage
See proverb.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of maxim
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English maxime ultimately from Medieval Latin maxima (originally in the phrase maxima prōpositiō “axiom,” literally, “greatest proposition”), noun use of feminine of Latin maximus, superlative of magnus “great”; see much
Explanation
A maxim is a succinct formulation of a principle, rule, or basic truth about life. Usually clever, maxims are like great sayings everybody knows. Ben Franklin is the author of many, including "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." A maxim sums up a fundamental principle or truth about something in a way that captures the imagination and gets repeated. Diana Vreeland, the legendary editor of Vogue magazine, once said, "Pink is the navy blue of India." May not be true, but it was such a great line it has become a maxim of fashion and even of India. An overused maxim of real estate is "Location, location, location." Confucius was spewing maxims long before Vogue hit the magazine stands: "He who learns but does not think is lost."
Vocabulary lists containing maxim
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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:
Her signature maxim — “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap” — drew laughs for decades even as it illuminated the unflinching honesty of her creative approach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Following his father’s maxim that “if you ain’t first, you’re last,” Ricky Bobby can’t imagine a win for anyone else as anything less than something stolen from him.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Mr. Schatz doesn’t quote William Goldman’s maxim about the movie industry—“nobody knows anything”—but it could stand as his book’s motto.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Billionaire Warren Buffett had a simple maxim for navigating Berkshire Hathaway through the financial crisis of 2007-09.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
“It’s only numbers, cadet,” Hauptmann says, a favorite maxim.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
He shared with me an email Alimov had received in June 2024, while I was in prison, from a man named Maxim Piunov.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
The first author is former postdoctoral researcher Maxim Gavrilenko.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Indeed, the only one of Brighton's eight representatives to make it past the last 16 was Belgium left-back Maxim de Cuyper who played in all six of their matches, starting five.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
She’s appeared in Maxim and cleaned up in poker tournaments when that was a thing.
From Salon ● May 4, 2026
“He was by that rock a minute ago, sniffing a dead seagull,” said Maxim.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
The saying is one of his favorite maxims, but it hasn’t been uttered by any other world leader for centuries.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Be greedy when others are fearful” is one half of one of Warren Buffett’s most well-known investing maxims.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
By then many Americans were deeply familiar with Franklin’s maxims about the importance of industriousness, thrift and self-reliance, which he published annually in “The Poor Richard’s Almanack” from 1732 to 1757.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
Some of these maxims might result in more films like Tommy Wiseau’s disasterpiece “The Room.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
My CIA training overrode my wishful thinking," Howard said, "and I also recalled one of James Bond's maxims: 'Once is coincidence.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
