maxim
1 Americannoun
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Hiram Percy, 1869–1936, U.S. inventor.
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his father Sir Hiram Stevens, 1840–1916, English inventor, born in the U.S.: inventor of the Maxim gun.
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Hudson, 1853–1927, U.S. inventor and explosives expert (brother of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim).
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a male given name, form of Maximilian.
noun
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.”
Related Words
See proverb.
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”; much
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.
Proves the maxim 'you're more likely to have an accident five mins from home!'
From BBC
Inside the company, Beccari’s favorite maxims quickly began to circulate: “If you have everything under control, you’re not going fast enough,” and “Victory is not important. It’s the only thing that counts.”
Similar to the popular business maxim about being better, faster and cheaper, you must “pick two.”
Although sophomoric, especially for a graduate student, I thought it showed, if not a deep understanding, at least a somewhat clever analysis of his famous maxims.
There’s a maxim, growing more potent every day, that AI won’t take your job, but someone using AI might.
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.
