minimum

American  

[min-uh-muhm] / ˈmɪn ə məm /

noun

minimums, plural minima plural

1. the least quantity or amount possible, assignable, allowable, or the like.

2. the lowest speed permitted on a highway.

3. the lowest amount, value, or degree attained or recorded.

4. an arbitrary amount set by a restaurant, nightclub, etc., as the least amount to be charged each person for food and drink.

5. Mathematics.

   1. Also called relative minimum,.  Also called local minimum.  the value of a function at a certain point in its domain, which is less than or equal to the values at all other points in the immediate vicinity of the point.

   2. the point in the domain at which a minimum occurs.

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adjective

1. noting or indicating a minimum.

2. least possible.

   minimum risk.

3. lowest.

   a minimum rate.

4. pertaining to a minimum or minimums.

minimum British  

/ ˈmɪnɪməm /

noun

1. the least possible amount, degree, or quantity

2. the least amount recorded, allowed, or reached

   the minimum in our temperature record this month was 50°

3. (modifier) being the least possible, recorded, allowed, etc

   minimum age

4. maths a value of a function that is less than any neighbouring value

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adjective

1. of or relating to a minimum or minimums

minimum Scientific  

/ mĭn′ə-məm /

minimums plural

1. The lowest known or lowest possible number, measure, quantity, or degree.

2. The lowest value of a mathematical function, if it has such a value.

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Usage

What does minimum mean? Minimum means the lowest amount or level of something. Minimum can be a noun or an adjective and it has several more specific meanings, all of which are related in some way to its primary meaning. When minimum is used as a noun, its plural can be minimums or, less commonly, minima. Example: Take the pie out of the oven and let it cool for a minimum of 30 minutes before serving.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• minima
  plural
• minimums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of minimum

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin, neuter of minimus “smallest, least”; see minor

Explanation

The minimum is the lowest or smallest amount possible or acceptable. If you do the minimum amount of work at your job, you might not get fired — but you definitely won't get promoted. Minimum is Latin for smallest, so clearly English speakers have done less than the minimum amount of messing with the meaning of this word. Obviously, the opposite is maximum. At minimum, you should know that the word means the smallest limit of something. At most, you should be able to talk about its Latin roots.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minimum minima minimums

For those on foot, she said: "It's always good to keep in mind that 25 yards is a minimum distance for safety."

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

A quorum is the minimum number of members who must be present for the commission to engage in rulemaking, issue final decisions in adjudications, initiate enforcement actions, and otherwise conduct business.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026

A MarketWatch request for comments from the Energy Department for details on the minimum SPR level allowed by Congress wasn’t immediately answered.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

The company argued the merger would create a stronger rival to Netflix, Amazon and Apple, and pledged to release at least 30 films a year for full theatrical runs with a minimum 45-day window.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Viola and I keep our talking to a bare minimum so we don’t give any more away.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

The researchers are now planning a metagenomic study that extends the time series to cover periods of even more intense sea ice minima.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024

In momentum space, free electrons are found in the local minima and maxima of the energy landscape, namely at points where the conduction and valence bands meet.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2024

Our home star goes through periods called grand minima when there are few to no sunspots.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 19, 2023

She was able to get photos of the Perdita minima but not the hard-to-spot burrows she hoped to also find.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2022

But to do this you require to have your temporary home well arranged—a perfect multum in parvo, a domus in minima.

From The Cruise of the Land-Yacht "Wanderer" Thirteen Hundred Miles in my Caravan by Stables, Gordon

The organisation said their documented figures should be seen as "absolute minimums", as getting information on deaths was severely limited by difficulty accessing sites, government-imposed internet blackouts and political repression.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

The court then issued a related ruling in Rutherford that prisoners could not receive a reduction in sentence based on mandatory minimums that Congress had reduced after their conviction.

From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026

The investing minimums can range from $25,000 to $100,000.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

In the middle of a growth spurt for women’s basketball, sparked by Caitlin Clark, the league reached a collective-bargaining agreement with record increases to the salary cap and league minimums.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

White men comprised 78 percent of the arrests for this offense in 1990 when new mandatory minimums governing drunk driving were being adopted.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• minimal