Definition of utmost
1 : situated at the farthest or most distant point : extreme the utmost point of the earth — John Hunt
2 : of the greatest or highest degree, quantity, number, or amount a matter of utmost concern
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Examples of utmost in a Sentence
supreme power that extended to the utmost points of the empire
inhabitants of the war-ravaged region are experiencing the utmost misery imaginable
Did You Know?
Utmost traces back to the Old English Ūtmest, a superlative adjective formed from the adverb Ūt, meaning "out." Ūtmest eventually evolved into utmost, perhaps influenced by the spelling of the word most. Not surprisingly, the earlier sense of utmost carries the same meaning as outermost. The second sense of utmost, meaning "of the greatest or highest degree," first appeared in English in the 14th century but didn't see frequent use until almost 400 years later. A related word is utter, meaning "absolute" or "total," as in the phrase utter chaos; it comes from Old English utera, meaning "outer," and ultimately from Ūt.
Origin and Etymology of utmost
Middle English, alteration of utmest, from Old English ūtmest, superlative adjective, from ūt out, adverb — more at out
First Known Use: before 12th century
utmost
Definition of utmost
1 : the most possible : the extreme limit : the highest attainable point or degree the utmost in reliability
2 : the highest, greatest, or best of one's abilities, powers, and resources will do our utmost to help
Examples of utmost in a Sentence
This new system represents the utmost in modern technology.
It's designed to provide the utmost in comfort.
We had to push ourselves to the utmost to finish the job in time.
Before 12th Century
First Known Use of utmost
before 12th century
UTMOST Defined for English Language Learners
utmost
playDefinition of utmost for English Language Learners
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: greatest or highest in degree, number, or amount
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: farthest or most distant
utmost
Definition of utmost for English Language Learners
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: the highest point or degree that can be reached
UTMOST Defined for Kids
Definition of utmost for Students
: of the greatest or highest degree or amount The message is of the utmost importance.
Definition of utmost for Students
: the greatest or highest degree or amount She stretched her arm to the utmost.
Learn More about utmost
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See words that rhyme with utmost Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for utmost Spanish Central: Translation of utmost Nglish: Translation of utmost for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of utmost for Arabic speakers
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