1
: greatest in quantity, extent, or degree
the most ability
2
: the majority of
most people
1
: to the greatest or highest degree
—often used with an adjective or adverb to form the superlative
the most challenging job he ever had
2
: to a very great degree
was most persuasive
: the greatest amount
it's the most I can do
singular or plural in construction
: the greatest number or part
most become discouraged and quit
: almost
we'll be crossing the river most any time now—
Hamilton Basso
Hamilton Basso
Can most be used in place of almost?: Usage Guide
Although considered by some to be unacceptable in all cases, most is often used to mean "almost" in both spoken and, to a lesser extent, written English to modify the adjectives all, every, and any; the pronouns all, everyone, everything, everybody, anyone, anything, and anybody; and the adverbs everywhere, anywhere, and always. Other uses of this sense of most are dialectal.
: most
innermost
: most toward
headmost
Synonyms
Adjective
Adverb (1)
- achingly
- almighty
- archly
- awful
- awfully
- badly
- beastly
- blisteringly
- bone
- colossally
- corking
- cracking
- damn
- damned
- dang
- deadly
- desperately
- eminently
- enormously
- especially
- ever
- exceedingly
- exceeding
- extra
- extremely
- fabulously
- fantastically
- far
- fiercely
- filthy
- frightfully
- full
- greatly
- heavily
- highly
- hugely
- immensely
- incredibly
- intensely
- jolly
- majorly
- mightily
- mighty
- monstrous [chiefly dialect]
- mortally
- much
- particularly
- passing
- rattling
- real
- really
- right
- roaring
- roaringly
- seriously
- severely
- so
- sore
- sorely
- spanking
- specially
- stinking
- such
- super
- supremely
- surpassingly
- terribly
- that
- thumping
- too
- unco
- uncommonly
- vastly
- very
- vitally
- way
- whacking
- wicked
- wildly
Noun
Adverb (2)
Examples of most in a Sentence
Adjective
Choosing a color took the most time.
That family owned the most land.
Unfortunately the negative aspects of our schools get the most attention.
Noun
this room will accommodate 50 people at the most
Recent Examples on the WebCarolyn Hax, Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2024
The sanitorium had some 40 buildings, could generate power and grow most of its food.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024
For most people, April 15 is the last day to submit tax returns or to file an extension.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024
Via Citrus Meyer Lemon Tree Buy on Amazon Buy on Etsy Buy on Uncommon Goods
A tabletop citrus tree that can live indoors or outside in most Southern climates is an original gift for any dad who has a green thumb or enjoys fresh citrus.
—Lauren Finney Harden, Southern Living, 15 Apr. 2024
For most of history, humans didn’t live long enough to confront the ailments of old age.
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Still, even before Akademiks’ confirmation, most listeners felt like the quality of the song’s vocal inflections — and inside-baseball references to Kendrick’s contract and the Weeknd’s manager XO Cash — affirmed the track as real.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
As a contributing handicap, I am not attracted to most gay men.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
The bag sits at 11 inches by 18 inches by 8 inches, which will slide under the seats of most commercial airlines.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2024
Ania Nussbaum, Fortune Europe, 16 Apr. 2024
The Czechs lost the key to their security as Germany completed its occupation of Sudetenland in early October, absorbing about a third of Czechoslovakia's population and its most important industrial sites.
—TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
Maxime Verret Photo: Maxime Verret That philosophy was most visible in a corridor running along the back of the room, where 21 new objects and furniture pieces were displayed next to items from the Hermès archives, artfully curated to appear in dialogue.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 16 Apr. 2024
Read Skoll’s full letter to staff: Dear Participant Team,
For 20 years, Participant has stood as the leading global media company focused on timely and emotionally transformational stories which speak to the world’s most pressing issues.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024
Later in life, Erskine credited Robinson for teaching him some of life’s most important lessons — tolerance, patience, care and understanding.
—Russ Stanton, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The Fall Off most definitely needs to be a unanimous classic or at least close to it for borderline fans such as myself to take him seriously again.
—Angel Diaz, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
That was a key issue in last year’s Hollywood writers and actors strikes — and is yet another facet of remix culture that, alongside copyright expirations, could change the faces of some of history’s most renowned characters in ways no one has ever considered.
—Andrew Dalton, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2024
Despite Detroit’s big rebound in property values leading Wayne County’s resurgence, and not slighting the gains in defense spending in Macomb County, Oakland County continues to be the state’s main economic driver and Michigan’s most prosperous big county by far.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Advice columnist Carolyn Hax takes your comments and questions most Fridays about life, family, relationships and more.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2024
The sanitorium had some 40 buildings, could generate power and grow most of its food.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024
For most people, April 15 is the last day to submit tax returns or to file an extension.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024
Via Citrus Meyer Lemon Tree Buy on Amazon Buy on Etsy Buy on Uncommon Goods
A tabletop citrus tree that can live indoors or outside in most Southern climates is an original gift for any dad who has a green thumb or enjoys fresh citrus.
—Lauren Finney Harden, Southern Living, 15 Apr. 2024
For most of history, humans didn’t live long enough to confront the ailments of old age.
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Still, even before Akademiks’ confirmation, most listeners felt like the quality of the song’s vocal inflections — and inside-baseball references to Kendrick’s contract and the Weeknd’s manager XO Cash — affirmed the track as real.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
As a contributing handicap, I am not attracted to most gay men.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
The bag sits at 11 inches by 18 inches by 8 inches, which will slide under the seats of most commercial airlines.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2024
Adverb
Add to that a preference for high-risk gambits that’s unnerving his most important stakeholders both at home and abroad.
—Ania Nussbaum, Fortune Europe, 16 Apr. 2024
The Czechs lost the key to their security as Germany completed its occupation of Sudetenland in early October, absorbing about a third of Czechoslovakia's population and its most important industrial sites.
—TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
Maxime Verret Photo: Maxime Verret That philosophy was most visible in a corridor running along the back of the room, where 21 new objects and furniture pieces were displayed next to items from the Hermès archives, artfully curated to appear in dialogue.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 16 Apr. 2024
Read Skoll’s full letter to staff: Dear Participant Team,
For 20 years, Participant has stood as the leading global media company focused on timely and emotionally transformational stories which speak to the world’s most pressing issues.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024
Later in life, Erskine credited Robinson for teaching him some of life’s most important lessons — tolerance, patience, care and understanding.
—Russ Stanton, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The Fall Off most definitely needs to be a unanimous classic or at least close to it for borderline fans such as myself to take him seriously again.
—Angel Diaz, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
That was a key issue in last year’s Hollywood writers and actors strikes — and is yet another facet of remix culture that, alongside copyright expirations, could change the faces of some of history’s most renowned characters in ways no one has ever considered.
—Andrew Dalton, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2024
Despite Detroit’s big rebound in property values leading Wayne County’s resurgence, and not slighting the gains in defense spending in Macomb County, Oakland County continues to be the state’s main economic driver and Michigan’s most prosperous big county by far.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'most.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near most
Cite this Entry
“Most.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/most. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
most
1 of 5 adjective1
: the majority of
most people believe this
2
: greatest in amount or extent
the most ability
most
2 of 5 adverb1
: to the greatest or highest level or extent
—often used with an adjective or adverb to form the superlative
most active
most actively
2
: to a very great extent
a most careful driver
most
3 of 5 noun
: the greatest amount, number, or part
most
4 of 5 adverb
: almost
the cost of most everything is higher
-most
5 of 5 adjective suffixˌmōst
: most
innermost
Etymology
Adjective suffix
Middle English -most "most"
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share