Showing results for "worst"

• superlative of bad.

worst

American  

[wurst] / wɜrst /

adjective

1. bad or ill in the highest, greatest, or most extreme degree.

   the worst person.

2. most faulty, unsatisfactory, or objectionable.

   the worst paper submitted.

3. most unfavorable or injurious.

4. in the poorest condition.

   the worst house on the block.

5. most unpleasant, unattractive, or disagreeable.

   the worst personality I've ever known.

6. most lacking in skill; least skilled.

   He’s the worst player on the team.

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noun

1. that which is worst.

adverb

1. in the most evil, wicked, severe, or disadvantageous manner.

2. with the most severity, intensity, etc.; in the greatest degree.

verb (used with object)

• worsts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• worsted,
  past participle,  past
• worsting
  present participle

1. to defeat; beat.

   He worsted him easily.

idioms

1. if worst comes to worst, if the very worst happens.

   If worst comes to worst, we still have some money in reserve.

2. in the worst way, in an extreme degree; very much: Also the worst way.

   She wanted a new robe for Christmas in the worst way.

3. get the worst of, to be defeated in; experience the most harm from.

   New Jersey got the worst of the storm.

4. at worst, if the worst happens; under the worst conditions: Also at the worst.

   He will be expelled from school, at worst.

worst British  

/ wɜːst /

adjective

1. the superlative of bad 1

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adverb

1. in the most extreme or bad manner or degree

2. least well, suitably, or acceptably

3. (in combination) in or to the smallest degree or extent; least

   worst-loved

noun

1. the least good or most inferior person, thing, or part in a group, narrative, etc

2. (often preceded by at) the most poor, unpleasant, or unskilled quality or condition

   television is at its worst these days

3. the greatest amount of damage or wickedness of which a person or group is capable

   the invaders came and did their worst

4. the weakest effort or poorest achievement that a person or group is capable of making

   the applicant did his worst at the test because he did not want the job

5. 1. in the least favourable interpretation or view

   2. under the least favourable conditions

6. if all the more desirable alternatives become impossible or if the worst possible thing happens

7. to enjoy the least benefit from an issue or be defeated in it

verb

1. (tr) to get the advantage over; defeat or beat

worst More Idioms  

1. see at worst; get (have) the worst of it; if worst comes to worst; in the worst way. Also see under worse.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of worst? Worst describes something as being bad in the highest degree possible. Worst is also used to mean a thing that is the baddest possible and to mean something done in the baddest manner possible. Worst has several other senses as an adjective, adverb, noun, and verb. Worst is a superlative of the word bad. Simply put, worst describes something as being the baddest out of a group, category, list, and the like. This can mean something is most evil, is least skilled, is most unsatisfactory, is of the poorest quality, or is most unpleasant. What someone thinks of as the worst something depends on what they’re judging that thing on. As with bad, worst is often a person’s opinion.

• Real-life examples: Everybody has a movie that they think is the worst (poorest quality or most unpleasant to watch) movie ever made. The worst student in a class could be the one who scores the lowest on tests or the one who misbehaves the most. A runner who records the worst time in a race is the one who ran the slowest. The worst person you know might be the one with the most unpleasant personality or who treats you the most poorly.
• Used in a sentence: Jessica got a 50 on the test, making her grade the worst in the class. 

In this same sense, worst as a noun means something is the baddest out of a group. This sense is almost always phrased as “the worst.”

• Real-life examples: A person who is the least skilled at painting among a group of painters is the worst. A pie that is the least pleasant to eat out of a group of pies is the worst.
• Used in a sentence: I have played a lot of bad video games, but that one is the worst of them all. 

As an adverb, worst is the superlative of the word badly and describes something as being done in as bad a manner as possible.

• Used in a sentence: We didn’t get any runners on base, making today’s baseball game the worst one this year.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• worsting
  present
• worsted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• worst
  simple
• worsts
  simple
• have worsted
  perfect
• has worsted
  perfect
• am worsting
  progressive
• are worsting
  progressive
• is worsting
  progressive
• have been worsting
  perfect progressive
• has been worsting
  perfect progressive

Past

• worsted
  simple
• had worsted
  perfect
• was worsting
  progressive
• were worsting
  progressive
• had been worsting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will worst
  simple
• will have worsted
  perfect
• will be worsting
  progressive
• will have been worsting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of worst

First recorded before 900; Middle English worste (adjective, adverb, and noun), Old English wur(re)sta, wyr(re)st, wer(re)sta (adjective and adverb); cognate with Old Norse verstr; see worse, -est ¹

Explanation

The adjective worst describes the thing that is the least good, like this awful pizza, the worst we've ever had in our lives. Worst means "the least favorable outcome." You may have heard the saying "hope for the best but expect the worst." Well, it you get the worst, you know there is nothing more bad than that. If you are at your worst, you have never before felt or performed this poorly. Don't confuse worst with worse, which compares only two things. Your cold might be worse than your brother's but dad's is the worst of all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

worst worsts worsted worsting

He told me their expectation was, at worst, a small, limited incursion by Hamas fighters.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The worst team at challenges was Cleveland at minus-13.4, yet the Guardians won the AL Central.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

The goal isn’t to figure out how to dominate an Ivy League opponent, but to learn how to survive in the worst conditions possible, when games seem beyond hope.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Treating that as a casual fallback plan, when they could take a reverse mortgage if need be, seems naive at best, and callous at worst.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Even though we were now free, and life was returning to some kind of normality, this was the worst time of all for me because Peter’s letters just stopped coming.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

In fact, five earned runs and three homers remain season worsts for Gray, who has a 2.99 ERA in 16 starts since that April 1 loss.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 3, 2023

Wacha allowed season worsts of six earned runs and three home runs against Baltimore in his previous start.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2022

The runs allowed, as well as the three home runs Tampa Bay hit off him, were career worsts for Means.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 13, 2019

At USC, Wilcox’s teams slid to, or very close to, career worsts in points allowed, yardage allowed, completion percentage and turnovers produced.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2017

It seems like a long list of worsts.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

He often mixed silk and wool or silk and linen for a softer alternative to the heavy, stiff gabardines and worsted wools that were typical for men’s suits and jackets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025

His father was a Wall Street banker turned Connecticut senator who was straight out of central casting: craggy, 6-foot-4, wearing gray worsted suits even in warm weather.

From New York Times ● Dec. 2, 2018

Rolls upon rolls of flannel, worsted wool and cashmere are stacked in a space the size of a football field.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 20, 2017

It's made at Alfred Brown worsted mills, a century-old family business in Bramley in Leeds.

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2016

He bought himself a brand-new single-breasted suit of brown worsted for this occasion, with a matching brown vest and a brown and yellow- flowered silk tie.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

There was that within him, however, which resented the worsting of his chivalry.

From The Island Pharisees by John Galsworthy

Anne haggard, Mary coarse, every face in the neighbourhood worsting, and the rapid increase of the crow's foot about Lady Russell's temples had long been a distress to him.

From Persuasion by Jane Austen

Ajax, noble son of Telamon, captain of your people, the cry of Ulysses rings in my ears, as though the Trojans had cut him off and were worsting him while he is single-handed.

From The Iliad by Homer

He flew to the army, took upon him the command, and displayed all the abilities of a great general in out-manœuvring and worsting the generals and armies of Savoy.

From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 3 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne

The flames, like devils thirsting, Lick the wind, where crackling spars Wage hellish warfare, worsting All the still, astonished stars!

From The History of "Punch" by M. H. (Marion Harry) Spielmann

Related Words

• calamity
• catastrophe