Word of the Day

: June 13, 2007

utmost

adjective UT-mohst

What It Means

1 : situated at the farthest or most distant point : extreme

2 : of the greatest or highest degree, quantity, number, or amount

utmost in Context

Dustin has the utmost respect for his uncle, who returned to school after many years to attain his degree.

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."

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.