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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

most.

Forms the superlative of many adjectives.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adv/ˈməʊst/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmoʊst/General-American[ˈmoːst]Canada
  1. Forms the superlative of many adjectives.

    not-comparable
    This is the most important example.
    Correctness is most important.
  2. Forms the superlative of many adjectives. With a superlative adjective ending in -est.

    not-comparable · proscribed
    the most tallest building in the world
  3. To a great extent or degree; highly; very.

    not-comparable
    This is a most unusual specimen.
  4. superlative degree of much

    form-of · not-comparable · superlative
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Middle English most English most From Middle English most, moste, from Old English mǣst, māst, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz, *maist. Cognate with Scots mast, maist (“most”), Saterland Frisian maast (“most”), West Frisian meast (“most”), Dutch meest (“most”), German meist (“most”), Danish and Swedish mest (“most”), Icelandic mestur (“most”).

adj/ˈməʊst/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmoʊst/General-American[ˈmoːst]Canada
  1. The greatest; the best.

    dated · not-comparable · slang
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Middle English most English most From Middle English most, moste, from Old English mǣst, māst, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz, *maist. Cognate with Scots mast, maist (“most”), Saterland Frisian maast (“most”), West Frisian meast (“most”), Dutch meest (“most”), German meist (“most”), Danish and Swedish mest (“most”), Icelandic mestur (“most”).

pron/ˈməʊst/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmoʊst/General-American[ˈmoːst]Canada
  1. The greater part of a group, especially a group of people.

    Most want the best for their children.
    The peach was juicier and more flavourful than most.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Middle English most English most From Middle English most, moste, from Old English mǣst, māst, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz, *maist. Cognate with Scots mast, maist (“most”), Saterland Frisian maast (“most”), West Frisian meast (“most”), Dutch meest (“most”), German meist (“most”), Danish and Swedish mest (“most”), Icelandic mestur (“most”).

noun/ˈməʊst/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmoʊst/General-American[ˈmoːst]Canada
  1. The greatest amount.

    uncountable · usually
    The most I can offer for the house is $150,000.
  2. The greater part.

    countable · uncountable · usually
    Most of the penguins were friendly and curious.
    Most of the rice was spoiled.
  3. A record-setting amount.

    countable · usually
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Middle English most English most From Middle English most, moste, from Old English mǣst, māst, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz, *maist. Cognate with Scots mast, maist (“most”), Saterland Frisian maast (“most”), West Frisian meast (“most”), Dutch meest (“most”), German meist (“most”), Danish and Swedish mest (“most”), Icelandic mestur (“most”).

det/ˈməʊst/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmoʊst/General-American[ˈmoːst]Canada
  1. superlative degree of much.

    form-of · superlative
    The teams competed to see who could collect (the) most money.
    I spent most time in Rome because most of Venice is flooded.
  2. superlative degree of many: the comparatively largest number of (construed with the definite article)

    form-of · superlative
    The team with the most points wins.
  3. superlative degree of many: the majority of; more than half of (construed without the definite article)

    form-of · superlative
    Most bakers and dairy farmers have to get up early.
    Winning was not important for most participants.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Middle English most English most From Middle English most, moste, from Old English mǣst, māst, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz, *maist. Cognate with Scots mast, maist (“most”), Saterland Frisian maast (“most”), West Frisian meast (“most”), Dutch meest (“most”), German meist (“most”), Danish and Swedish mest (“most”), Icelandic mestur (“most”).

adv/ˈməʊst/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmoʊst/General-American[ˈmoːst]Canada
  1. Clipping of almost.

    US · abbreviation · alt-of · clipping · informal · not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-Germanic *ala- Proto-West Germanic *ala- Old English æl- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Old English eallmǣst Middle English almost English almostclip. English most Clipping of almost.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.