maximal
Americanadjective
adjective
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of, relating to, or achieving a maximum; being the greatest or best possible
-
maths (of a member of an ordered set) being preceded, in order, by all other members of the set
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of maximal
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Maximal entanglement inside the proton emerges as a consequence of strong interactions that produce a large number of quark-antiquark pairs and gluons," he said.
From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2024
Maximal heart rate — the peak rate at which an individual’s heart beats — varies from person to person and is age-dependent.
From Washington Post • Nov. 26, 2022
They were overjoyed to escape Mom’s Tyranny of Maximal Fun.
From Slate • May 8, 2018
The academic article that followed, “CrossFit-Based High-Intensity Power Training Improves Maximal Aerobic Fitness and Body Composition,” shed scientific light on why CrossFit has grown from 250 affiliate gyms in 2007 to more than 10,000 today.
From BusinessWeek • Sep. 4, 2014
Maximal measurements are: length of plastron, 56 mm; length of carapace, 82 mm; width of carapace, 77 mm; depth of shell, 13 mm; width of head, 12 mm.
From Description of a New Softshell Turtle From the Southeastern United States by Webb, Robert G.
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.
