at the (very) least

phrase

—used to indicate the least thing that is true, acceptable, desirable, or certain to happen

He wanted to win the race, or at the least, to finish second.

It will change your life or, at the very least, teach you something new.

At the very least, she deserves to be heard.

Examples of at the (very) least in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But after living through a nightmare, Wessinger hopes that, at the least, Jordan’s story can push other parents to be more assertive and advocate for their children, particularly after surgery. — Emily Brindley health Reporter, Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026

That would almost certainly result in water shortages downstream, at the very least for the Central Arizona Project, which serves the Phoenix metro area. — Jonathan Thompson, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026

Or, at the very least, to become a more empowered and empathic double agent. — Jay Baruch, STAT, 18 Mar. 2026

That also means that analysts have had to keep the sales out of their models or, at the very least, be extremely conservative in predicting when sales would resume, if ever. — Zev Fima, CNBC, 18 Mar. 2026