most

¹ American  

[mohst] / moʊst /

adjective

1. in the greatest quantity, amount, measure, degree, or number.

   to win the most votes.

2. in the majority of instances.

   Most operations are successful.

3. greatest, as in size or extent.

   the most talent.

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noun

1. the greatest quantity, amount, or degree; the utmost.

   The most I can hope for is a passing grade.

2. the greatest number or the majority of a class specified.

   Most of his writing is rubbish.

3. the greatest number.

   The most this room will seat is 150.

4. the majority of persons.

   to be more sensitive than most.

5. Slang. the most, the ultimate in something.

   He's the most. That movie was the most.

adverb

1. in or to the greatest extent or degree (in this sense often used before adjectives and adverbs, and regularly before those of more than two syllables, to form superlative phrases having the same force and effect as the superlative degree formed by the termination-est ).

   most rapid; most wisely.

2. extremely; very.

   a most puzzling case.

3. Informal. almost or nearly.

idioms

1. make the most of, to use to greatest advantage; utilize fully.

   to make the most of an opportunity.

2. for the most part. part.

3. at the most, at the maximum. Also at most.

-most ² American  

1. a combining form of most occurring in a series of superlatives.

   foremost; utmost.

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most ¹ British  

/ məʊst /

determiner

1. 1. a great majority of; nearly all

      most people like eggs

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      most of them don't know

      most of it is finished

2. 1. the superlative of many much

      you have the most money

      the most apples

   2. ( as pronoun )

      the most he can afford is two pounds

3. at the maximum

   that girl is four at the most

4. generally

5. to use to the best advantage

   she makes the most of her accent

6. than most others

   the leaves are greener than most

7. slang wonderful

   that chick's the most

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adverb

1. used to form the superlative of some adjectives and adverbs

   the most beautiful daughter of all

2. the superlative of much

   people welcome a drink most after work

3. (intensifier)

   a most absurd story

4. informal almost

   most every town in this state

   John is the more intelligent of the two

   he is the most intelligent of the students

-most ² British  

suffix

1. forming the superlative degree of some adjectives and adverbs

   hindmost

   uppermost

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most More Idioms  

1. see at most; for the most part; make the most of.

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Usage

The adverb most, a shortened form of almost, is far from being either a recent development or an Americanism. It goes back to the 16th century in England, where it is now principally a dialect form. In American English it occurs before such pronouns as all, anyone, anybody, everyone, and everybody; the adjectives all, any, and every; and adverbs like anywhere and everywhere: Most everyone around here is related to everyone else. You can find that plant most anywhere. This use of most is often objected to, but it is common in the informal speech of educated persons. It is less common in edited writing except in representations of speech.

More and most should be distinguished when used in comparisons. More applies to cases involving two persons, objects, etc, most to cases involving three or more

Related Words

See almost.

Etymology

Origin of most¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English most(e), Old English māst; replacing Middle English mest(e), Old English mǣst; cognate with German meist, Gothic maists; more

Origin of -most²

Middle English -most; replacing Middle English, Old English -mest, double superlative suffix, equivalent to -ma superlative suffix (as in Old English forma first; compare Latin prīmus ) + -est ¹; later identified with most

Example Sentences

He’s often referred to as the man who cracked the secret to going viral: With over 450 million subscribers, he now runs the most popular YouTube channel in the world.

From The Wall Street Journal

While the bot proved capable at monotonous tasks like sorting objects, the former engineers said they thought most factory jobs are better off being done by robots with shapes designed for the specific task.

From The Wall Street Journal

Like their father, most of them worked at Ford.

From The Wall Street Journal

It possesses the world’s fourth-largest crude reserves and second-largest reserves of natural gas but is prevented from exporting most of it because of a U.S. oil embargo.

From The Wall Street Journal

Still, I can’t deny it would be eye-opening for most diners to walk a mile in their servers’ shoes—if only to learn how much their feet hurt.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• almost
• exceedingly
• much
• nearly
• remarkably
• too
• very