optimum

[ op-tuh-muhm ]

/ ˈɒp tə məm /

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noun, plural op·ti·ma [op-tuh-muh] /ˈɒp tə mə/, op·ti·mums.

the best or most favorable point, degree, amount, etc., as of temperature, light, and moisture for the growth or reproduction of an organism.

the greatest degree or best result obtained or obtainable under specific conditions.

adjective

most favorable or desirable; best: optimum conditions.

Nearby words

optimism, optimist, optimistic, optimization, optimize, optimum, optimum dose, optimum population, option, option money, optional

Origin of optimum

1875–80; < Latin: noun use of neuter of optimus best, suppletive superlative of bonus good

SYNONYMS FOR optimum

3 ideal, perfect, optimal.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for optimum

As for the search, which will soon resume, Soelisto confessed that “the capability of our equipment is not optimum.”
Did Bad Weather Bring Down AirAsia 8501?|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One reason for that is filmmakers shot with 16mm lenses on hand-cranked cameras for optimum authenticity.
Who Invented the ‘Teenager’?|Nina Strochlic|March 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even salt is chemically broken down and rebuilt for optimum flavor.
How Fast Food Hooks Us|Nina Strochlic|February 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I read Anthropometry of Algerian Women and Optimum Handle Height for a Push-Pull Type Manually Operated Dryland Weeder.
The Self-Educated Apple Genius|James Marcus Bach|September 13, 2009|DAILY BEAST

The last two years was sort of the optimum personal fun, because we were the majority.
Barney Frank Hits Back|Lloyd Grove|April 2, 2009|DAILY BEAST
At an optimum temperature it reaches its greatest amplitude, and, again, beyond a maximum temperature it is very much reduced.
Response in the Living and Non-Living|Jagadis Chunder Bose
My cousin, young Denny Swinton, was to dine with me that evening at the Optimum.
Phroso|Anthony Hope
This optimum condition cannot be secured except by the forced growth as the result of the heading back.
Northern Nut Growers Association, Report of the Proceedings at the Fourth Annual Meeting|Various
The temperature minimum and optimum varies in different tissues.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
In isolating certain bacteria, advantage is taken of the fact that different species vary in their optimum temperature.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre

British Dictionary definitions for optimum

optimum

/ (ˈɒptɪməm) /

noun plural -ma (-mə) or -mums

a condition, degree, amount or compromise that produces the best possible result

adjective

most favourable or advantageous; bestoptimum conditions

Word Origin for optimum

C19: from Latin: the best (thing), from optimus best; see optimism

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012