state of the art

American  

noun

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

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state of the art British  

noun

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

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adjective

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

   a state-of-the-art amplifier

state of the art Idioms  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• state-of-the-art
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of state of the art

First recorded in 1960–65

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

state of the art

But the glass on vitrines is nonreflective; lighting is state of the art; and windows, once masked by curtains, now reveal the landscape, thanks to UV-filtering film.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The Terafab will focus on so-called two-nanometer nodes, which represent the state of the art in semiconductor design and manufacturing.

From Barron's ● Mar. 23, 2026

"Our results are really pushing the state of the art," she said.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 17, 2025

The skatepark - which at the time was considered state of the art - opened in May 1978 and featured bowls, a slalom run and a half-pipe, all with names like Jaws, Torpedo and Bazooka.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025

In 1971, this was state of the art.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

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