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• maxim
  maxim

  noun

  an expression of a general truth or principle, especially an aphoristic or sententious one.
• Maxim
  Maxim

  noun

  Hiram Percy, 1869–1936, U.S. inventor.

maxim

¹ American  

[mak-sim] / ˈmæk sɪm /

noun

• maxims
  plural

1. an expression of a general truth or principle, especially an aphoristic or sententious one.

   the maxims of La Rochefoucauld.

   Synonyms:

   apothegm, adage, saying, aphorism

2. a principle or rule of conduct.

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Maxim ² American  

[mak-sim, mak-seem, muh-ksyeem] / ˈmæk sɪm, makˈsim, mʌˈksjim /

noun

1. Hiram Percy, 1869–1936, U.S. inventor.

2. his father Sir Hiram Stevens, 1840–1916, English inventor, born in the U.S.: inventor of the Maxim gun.

3. Hudson, 1853–1927, U.S. inventor and explosives expert (brother of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim).

4. a male given name, form of Maximilian.

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Maxim ¹ British  

/ ˈmæksɪm /

noun

1. Sir Hiram Stevens. 1840–1916, British inventor of the first automatic machine gun (1884), born in the US

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maxim ² British  

/ ˈmæksɪm /

noun

1. a brief expression of a general truth, principle, or rule of conduct

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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

• maxims
  plural

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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

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

maxim Maxim maxims

To paraphrase the maxim falsely attributed to Lincoln, you can fool a whole bunch of the people for a hell of a long time, but you can’t fool all of them forever.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

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

Billionaire Warren Buffett had a simple maxim for navigating Berkshire Hathaway through the financial crisis of 2007-09.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

In the coaching world, there is a maxim some believe in - that teams are built in the image of their coaches.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

This looks to us like a principle, maxim, or rule of thumb, not a law, because it lacks specificity.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The first author is former postdoctoral researcher Maxim Gavrilenko.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

Steak ’n Shake’s revamp is led by Sardar Biglari, an activist investor and conservative figure who also owns Maxim magazine, insurance providers and oil companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 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

Meanwhile Maxim Group analyst Allen Klee set a Street high price target on the stock at $111, implying 35% upside from the recent price of $82.

From Barron's ● May 8, 2026

I was glad Maxim had given me a set of brushes, and that they were laid out there, upon the dressing-table, for Mrs. Danvers to see.

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

How many of these business maxims from his “Poor Richard’s Almanack” can you remember?

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

“Never bet against America” was one of Warren Buffett’s maxims and has been a good guideline for decades.

From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026

Some of these maxims might result in more films like Tommy Wiseau’s disasterpiece “The Room.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025

I had a picture of Mrs. Willard, with her heather-mixture tweeds and her sensible shoes and her wise, maternal maxims.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

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Related Words

• adage
• aphorism
• axiom
• dictum
• motto
• proverb
• theorem

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