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.
Noun
this room will accommodate 50 people at the most
Recent Examples on the WebCarolyn Hax, Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2024
The sanitorium had some 40 buildings, could generate power and grow most of its food.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024
For most people, April 15 is the last day to submit tax returns or to file an extension.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024
Via Citrus Meyer Lemon Tree Buy on Amazon Buy on Etsy Buy on Uncommon Goods
A tabletop citrus tree that can live indoors or outside in most Southern climates is an original gift for any dad who has a green thumb or enjoys fresh citrus.
—Lauren Finney Harden, Southern Living, 15 Apr. 2024
For most of history, humans didn’t live long enough to confront the ailments of old age.
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Still, even before Akademiks’ confirmation, most listeners felt like the quality of the song’s vocal inflections — and inside-baseball references to Kendrick’s contract and the Weeknd’s manager XO Cash — affirmed the track as real.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
As a contributing handicap, I am not attracted to most gay men.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
The bag sits at 11 inches by 18 inches by 8 inches, which will slide under the seats of most commercial airlines.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2024
Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
The rapper’s most recent album Whole Lotta Red arrived in December 2020.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2024
Mark: One of our most exciting moments was many years ago, probably 2009.
—Bill Kopp, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2024
After a wave of strikes last winter, which caused major power outages nationwide during the coldest months of the year, DTEK restored its power units — only to have most destroyed again.
—Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
One of nature’s most breathtaking sights will be right outside your front door.
—Yaakov Zinberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Amid that party era came the contest most resembling the Trump-Biden rematch.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
Adjust the headband to find your most comfortable fit.
—Tim Chan, Variety, 23 Mar. 2024
The 16th hole had nearly seven times more calls for service than the next most problematic location on the course.
—Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 23 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Advice columnist Carolyn Hax takes your comments and questions most Fridays about life, family, relationships and more.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2024
The sanitorium had some 40 buildings, could generate power and grow most of its food.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024
For most people, April 15 is the last day to submit tax returns or to file an extension.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024
Via Citrus Meyer Lemon Tree Buy on Amazon Buy on Etsy Buy on Uncommon Goods
A tabletop citrus tree that can live indoors or outside in most Southern climates is an original gift for any dad who has a green thumb or enjoys fresh citrus.
—Lauren Finney Harden, Southern Living, 15 Apr. 2024
For most of history, humans didn’t live long enough to confront the ailments of old age.
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Still, even before Akademiks’ confirmation, most listeners felt like the quality of the song’s vocal inflections — and inside-baseball references to Kendrick’s contract and the Weeknd’s manager XO Cash — affirmed the track as real.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
As a contributing handicap, I am not attracted to most gay men.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
The bag sits at 11 inches by 18 inches by 8 inches, which will slide under the seats of most commercial airlines.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2024
Adverb
Despite Detroit’s big rebound in property values leading Wayne County’s resurgence, and not slighting the gains in defense spending in Macomb County, Oakland County continues to be the state’s main economic driver and Michigan’s most prosperous big county by far.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
The rapper’s most recent album Whole Lotta Red arrived in December 2020.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2024
Mark: One of our most exciting moments was many years ago, probably 2009.
—Bill Kopp, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2024
After a wave of strikes last winter, which caused major power outages nationwide during the coldest months of the year, DTEK restored its power units — only to have most destroyed again.
—Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
One of nature’s most breathtaking sights will be right outside your front door.
—Yaakov Zinberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Amid that party era came the contest most resembling the Trump-Biden rematch.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
Adjust the headband to find your most comfortable fit.
—Tim Chan, Variety, 23 Mar. 2024
The 16th hole had nearly seven times more calls for service than the next most problematic location on the course.
—Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 23 Mar. 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 18 Apr. 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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