at the (very) least
idiom
—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
This road trip covered 570 miles, which required 10 hours of driving at the very least.
—
Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 10 Aug. 2025
Or at the very least, at the center of a lot of conversations that have brought back up older controversies.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 6 Aug. 2025
But Fangio is at the very least narrowing DeJean’s on-field focus to safety for the moment.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2025
Trade talk : The news flow surrounding the Trump administration's Friday tariff deadline remains positive—or, at the very least, free of setbacks — as the U.S. and European Union reached an agreement over the weekend.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for at the (very) least
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Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 10 Aug. 2025
Or at the very least, at the center of a lot of conversations that have brought back up older controversies.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 6 Aug. 2025
But Fangio is at the very least narrowing DeJean’s on-field focus to safety for the moment.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2025
Trade talk : The news flow surrounding the Trump administration's Friday tariff deadline remains positive—or, at the very least, free of setbacks — as the U.S. and European Union reached an agreement over the weekend.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for at the (very) least
Cite this Entry
“At the (very) least.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at%20the%20%28very%29%20least. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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