state of the art

noun

1. the latest and most sophisticated or advanced stage of a technology, art, or science.

state of the art

noun

1. the level of knowledge and development achieved in a technique, science, etc, esp at present

adjective

1. the most recent and therefore considered the best; up-to-the-minute

   a state-of-the-art amplifier

Other Word Forms

• state-of-the-art adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of state of the art¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Idioms and Phrases

The highest level of development, very up-to-date, as in This new television set reflects the state of the art in screen technology. Despite including the word art, this term originated in technology, and its first recorded use appears in a 1910 book on the gas turbine. Today it is often used adjectivally, as in This is a state-of-the-art camera, and sometimes very loosely, as in That movie is state-of-the-art Woody Allen.