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

But the respect the band had earned from the country firmament felt, at best, grudging. — Shaad D’souza, Pitchfork, 11 Oct. 2026

These and other questions proliferate as Lisbet and Mihai are interrogated by social workers and attorneys, who treat them with bureaucratic dismissiveness at best and sneering condescension at worst. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026

Without that separate action layer, the audit trail is aspirational at best. — Alex Salazar, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Winning South Carolina has been at best a distant dream for Democrats since the end of the 20th century. — Caroline Linton, CBS News, 6 Oct. 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