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.
Adverb (1)
a most careful driver, especially in bad weather
Noun
this room will accommodate 50 people at the most
Adverb (2)
the cost of most everything is higher nowadays
Recent Examples on the WebGene Maddaus, Variety, 11 May 2024
Jones recalls being struck most of all by what Kelly’s work displaced.
—Adam Bradley, New York Times, 10 May 2024
In similarly electric fashion, most of the setlist’s 23 other songs also were supersized.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 10 May 2024
Like most small towns in Washington, there's ample opportunity for outdoor adventure, including hiking around Mount Si.
—Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 10 May 2024
Balenciaga, Balmain, Jacques Fath, Hardie Amies, and more were churning out ultra-glamorous, highly feminine dresses for most of the decade.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 27 Apr. 2024
Air quality levels remain in red for most of the East Coast due to smoke from wildfires that have been burning in Canada for weeks.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 27 Apr. 2024
Pope spent most of her Boeing career in top financial jobs, serving as CFO of both its services arm, and BCA.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 27 Apr. 2024
Its agents are some of the world’s most adroit dealmakers.
—Christina Binkley, Robb Report, 27 Apr. 2024
Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 May 2024
This freedom could explain the R&D and manufacturing resources put into some of Rolex’s most extreme watches, such as the first Deep Sea and even the relatively commonplace Daytona, which was a commercial failure for decades.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 11 May 2024
Perhaps her most impressive was scoring the most points by any college player in NCAA History—in both the men’s and women’s leagues—with 3,951 points.
—Kristina Behr, Parents, 11 May 2024
Another cornerstone of Tomorrow University's learning experience is its community, a global network of like-minded professionals committed to addressing the world’s most pressing challenges.
—Brianna Kamienski, USA TODAY, 11 May 2024
Before transitioning to steady voice work, her most recent onscreen credit was Tooth Fairy (2010).
—James Mercadante and Stephanie Kaloi, EW.com, 11 May 2024
In This Article Best Things to Do Best Shopping
Best Nightlife
Best Restaurants
Best Time to Visit
Neighborhoods to Visit
How to Get Around
Capital of Tuscany, cradle of the Renaissance, and one of Italy’s most popular destinations, Florence needs little introduction.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 11 May 2024
Relative to most harrowing nights on ice, Bobrovsky could have done a crossword puzzle back there or worked on his yoga poses during long stretches when Boston could hardly buy a shot on goal.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 11 May 2024
McNamara, who joined the company in 2021, most recently served as VP and global head of podcast studios.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 10 May 2024
Adjective
That agreement typically tracks with the Basic Agreement in most respects.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 11 May 2024
Jones recalls being struck most of all by what Kelly’s work displaced.
—Adam Bradley, New York Times, 10 May 2024
In similarly electric fashion, most of the setlist’s 23 other songs also were supersized.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 10 May 2024
Like most small towns in Washington, there's ample opportunity for outdoor adventure, including hiking around Mount Si.
—Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 10 May 2024
Balenciaga, Balmain, Jacques Fath, Hardie Amies, and more were churning out ultra-glamorous, highly feminine dresses for most of the decade.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 27 Apr. 2024
Air quality levels remain in red for most of the East Coast due to smoke from wildfires that have been burning in Canada for weeks.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 27 Apr. 2024
Pope spent most of her Boeing career in top financial jobs, serving as CFO of both its services arm, and BCA.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 27 Apr. 2024
Its agents are some of the world’s most adroit dealmakers.
—Christina Binkley, Robb Report, 27 Apr. 2024
Adverb
Throughout the Trinity River’s recorded history, the waterway has been called many names — most often insulting epithets such as the Big Ditch.
—Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 May 2024
This freedom could explain the R&D and manufacturing resources put into some of Rolex’s most extreme watches, such as the first Deep Sea and even the relatively commonplace Daytona, which was a commercial failure for decades.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 11 May 2024
Perhaps her most impressive was scoring the most points by any college player in NCAA History—in both the men’s and women’s leagues—with 3,951 points.
—Kristina Behr, Parents, 11 May 2024
Another cornerstone of Tomorrow University's learning experience is its community, a global network of like-minded professionals committed to addressing the world’s most pressing challenges.
—Brianna Kamienski, USA TODAY, 11 May 2024
Before transitioning to steady voice work, her most recent onscreen credit was Tooth Fairy (2010).
—James Mercadante and Stephanie Kaloi, EW.com, 11 May 2024
In This Article Best Things to Do Best Shopping
Best Nightlife
Best Restaurants
Best Time to Visit
Neighborhoods to Visit
How to Get Around
Capital of Tuscany, cradle of the Renaissance, and one of Italy’s most popular destinations, Florence needs little introduction.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 11 May 2024
Relative to most harrowing nights on ice, Bobrovsky could have done a crossword puzzle back there or worked on his yoga poses during long stretches when Boston could hardly buy a shot on goal.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 11 May 2024
McNamara, who joined the company in 2021, most recently served as VP and global head of podcast studios.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 10 May 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 14 May. 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"
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