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

Outside of Silicon Valley, there is a tendency to dismiss such prophecies as, at best, patently unserious. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026

His work habits are inconsistent at best, and his lack of follow-through directly affects my ability to do my job well. — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 24 July 2026

Conventional rules are at best just that, conventional; at worst, bad advice. — Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Republicans want to scare voters into thinking that if Democrats win the midterm elections, the United States will be on the road to a future in which the Senate is no more—or is, at best, an impotent debate club for elderly statesmen. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 22 July 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