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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

Last year, during the worst of the power outages, family members and neighbors gathered at Yavorskaya’s house, which had a gas-heating system and a generator.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Three of the country's worst illegal dumps are due to be cleaned up using taxpayers' money, the government has announced.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

It holds best for consumer applications, where consistent output matters more than leaps in quality, and worst for coding tools, where developers keep chasing the next best model.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

While mountainous areas have been spared the worst of the heat, the exceptional temperatures have seen a record number of rockfalls in the Alps, according to a French scientist.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

I rigged a snow shelter and made a lean-to with a tarp and dug snow caves for the dogs and we holed up to wait until the worst of the cold had passed.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

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

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2022

Cobb allowed season worsts of nine runs and 11 hits in a June 10 loss at Toronto.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 20, 2018

His .162 batting average, .237 on-base percentage and .276 slugging percentage were all league-wide worsts among players who batted at least 200 times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2017

He finished with a .229 batting average and .616 OPS, both career worsts.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 9, 2016

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

They had put chairs and pillows into it, and several worsted suits.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 4, 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

She took photographs and wrote poetry; in 1938, The New York Times published her ode to “a day for dreaming in the sun, for telling worsted tales, for languid ease.”

From New York Times ● May 26, 2016

Nor did she have any special concern for her own dress, which was a plain brown worsted and easy enough to wash if it got dirty.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

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

From The Island Pharisees by John Galsworthy

But if Michael, after thoroughly worsting you, asks me my opinion, I shall certainly give it him.

From Michael by E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson

He was the first to speak, and, in doing so, he felt he was acknowledging his worsting in the encounter.

From The Law-Breakers by Ridgwell Cullum

So far as the special matter in hand was concerned, the worsting of Hillsborough, though a gratification, did not result in the bettering of Franklin and his co-petitioners.

From Benjamin Franklin by John T. (John Torrey) Morse

Yet, in fact, there had not been a disaster, but only a moderate worsting of the Federal army, resulting in its retirement a trifling distance to the place whence its opponents had just marched out.

From Abraham Lincoln, Volume II by John T. (John Torrey) Morse

Related Words

• calamity
• catastrophe