at best

phrase

: under the most favorable circumstances

won't be finished for another three months at best

At best, you will earn back what you paid in.

He's an average writer at best.

… was among the worst schools in a city whose public education could be described as struggling, at best.

—Ann Carrns

Examples of at best in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And without one, treatment becomes guesswork, ineffective at best, harmful at worst. — Jerome Groopman, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026

Caulfield is not accusing Audible of theft, but is making clear how the rights situation is murky at best. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2026

That is at best a superficial understanding of the work involved in psychiatric treatment and the substantial labor that occurs outside the appointment itself. — Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu, STAT, 1 Sep. 2026

But there is a saying in the military that leadership sets the tone, and when the most senior leaders are flippant at best, and cruel at worst, many will understand that to be the permissible standard. — Andrea N. Goldstein, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1556, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for at best

• abreast
• accessed
• addressed
• appressed
• armrest
• arrest
• assessed
• attest
• backrest
• behest
• bequest
• caressed