most
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most
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: mōst, IPA(key): /ˈməʊst/
- (General American) enPR: mōst, IPA(key): /ˈmoʊst/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -əʊst
Etymology 1
From Middle English most, moste, from Old English mǣst, māst, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz, *maist. Cognate with Scots mast, maist (“most”), Saterland Frisian maast (“most”), West Frisian meast (“most”), Dutch meest (“most”), German meist (“most”), Danish and Swedish mest (“most”), Icelandic mestur (“most”).
Alternative forms
Determiner
most
- superlative degree of much.
- The teams competed to see who could collect (the) most money.
- superlative degree of many: the comparatively largest number of (construed with the definite article)
- The team with the most points wins.
- superlative degree of many: the majority of; more than half of (construed without the definite article)
- Most bakers and dairy farmers have to get up early.
- Winning was not important for most participants.
Synonyms
- (superlative of much): more than half of (in meaning, not grammar), almost all
- (superlative of many): the majority of (in meaning, not grammar)
Translations
superlative of much
|
superlative of many: comparatively largest number of
|
majority of
|
Adverb
most (not comparable)
- Forms the superlative of many adjectives.
- Antonym: least
- This is the most important example.
- Correctness is most important.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 77:
- With some of it on the south and more of it on the north of the great main thoroughfare that connects Aldgate and the East India Docks, St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London.
- 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
- “[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes […] . And then, when you see [the senders], you probably find that they are the most melancholy old folk with malignant diseases. […]”
- To a great extent or degree; highly; very.
- This is a most unusual specimen.
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Ship”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 77:
- A noble craft, but somehow a most melancholy!
- 1895 May 7, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Palace of Green Porcelain”, in The Time Machine: An Invention, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 162:
- Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing.
- 1922, Ruth Plumly Thompson, “The Last Giant”, in The Princess of Cozytown, P. F. Volland, page 80:
- “His song is most unpleasant,” said the King rubbing his head, “pray bid him cease,” and off went the secretary to argue with the wind.
- superlative degree of many (Should we delete(+) this sense?)
- Antonym: least
- Most times when I go hiking I wear boots.
- superlative degree of much
- 2013 August 3, “Boundary Problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
- Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too.
Derived terms
- at most
- at the most
- at the very most
- backmost
- empty barrels make the most noise
- empty cans make the most noise
- empty vessels make the most noise
- empty vessels make the most sound
- foremost
- for the most part
- frontmost
- hindmost
- host with the most
- innermost
- lookers-on see most of the game
- make the most of
- -most
- most an end
- most favored nation
- most favoured nation
- most like
- mostly
- most muscular
- most of all
- most of the time
- most-perfect magic square
- most Rikki-Tik
- most significant bit
- most significant byte
- most valuable player
- most vexing parse
- outermost
- rearmost
- second most
- The Most Reverend
Related terms
Translations
forming the superlative
|
highly
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Adjective
most (not comparable)
Pronoun
most
- The greater part of a group, especially a group of people.
- Most want the best for their children.
- The peach was juicier and more flavourful than most.
Synonyms
- (greater part): the majority
Noun
most (usually uncountable, plural mosts)
- (uncountable) The greatest amount.
- The most I can offer for the house is $150,000.
- (countable, uncountable) The greater part.
- Most of the penguins were friendly and curious.
- Most of the rice was spoiled.
- 1892, Walter Besant, “The Select Circle”, in The Ivory Gate , New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, , →OCLC, page 46:
- At half-past nine on this Saturday evening the parlor of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. […] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for the select circle—a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening for a pipe and a cheerful glass.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 249:
- The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. […] The second note, the high alarum, not so familiar and always important since it indicates the paramount sin in Man's private calendar, took most of them by surprise although they had been well prepared.
- 2013 August 16, John Vidal, “Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 10, page 8:
- Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.
- (countable) A record-setting amount.
- 2001, George Barna, Real Teens: A Contemporary Snapshot of Youth Culture, →ISBN, page 15:
- Along with their massive size will come other “mosts”: they will likely be the longest living, the best educated, the wealthiest and the most wired/ wireless.
- 2002, John Gregory Selby, Virginians at War: The Civil War Experiences of Seven Young Confederates, →ISBN, page xvii:
- Virginia had a number of "mosts” that made it appealing, if not representative of all Confederate states: the most citizens among the Southern states; the most slaves; the most men under arms; the most famous Southern generals; the most fighting within its borders; the most divided by the war (what other Southern state lost a quarter of its territory and saw a new state created out of that former territory?); and the most damaged by the war.
- 2007, Joe Moscheo, The Gospel Side of Elvis, →ISBN:
- The record of Elvis' achievement is truly remarkable; his list of “firsts” and “mosts” is probably without parallel in music and entertainment history.
Usage notes
Translations
Etymology 2
Reduction of almost.
Adverb
most (not comparable)
- (informal, chiefly US) Almost.
- 1998, Bill Zehme, The Way You Wear Your Hat: And the Lost Art of Livin' (page 181)
- A well-daiquiried redhead eyed him from across the room at Jilly's one night in 1963 — although it could have been most any night ever
- 2000, Jewish Baltimore: A Family Album, →ISBN, page 159:
- "We walked there most every day after school."
- 2011, Charlotte Maclay, Wanted: A Dad to Brag About, →ISBN:
- “Can't be all that bad if Luke likes it. Most everywhere has air-conditioning, he says.”
- 1998, Bill Zehme, The Way You Wear Your Hat: And the Lost Art of Livin' (page 181)
Translations
almost — see almost
See also
References
- “most”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
Catalan
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
most m (plural mosts or mostos)
- must (fruit juice that will ferment or has fermented)
Further reading
- “most” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “most”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “most” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “most” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Czech
Etymology
Inherited from Old Czech most, from Proto-Slavic *mostъ (“bridge”).
Pronunciation
Noun
most m inan (diminutive můstek or mostek or mostík)
Declension
Derived terms
See also
Further reading
- most in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
- most in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
- most in Internetová jazyková příručka
Dutch
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
most m (uncountable, diminutive mostje n)
- must (unfermented or partially fermented mashed grapes or rarely other fruits, an early stage in the production of wine)
Friulian
Etymology
Noun
most m (plural mosts)
- must (unfermented grape juice or wine)
Hungarian
Etymology
From the earlier ma (“now”), which in modern Hungarian means “today” + -st. For the suffix, compare valamelyest.
Pronunciation
Adverb
most
Declension
It can be suffixed from its (otherwise folksy) variant mostan: mostantól (“from now on”), mostanra (“by now”), mostanig (“until now”), or the latter more commonly formed with -a-, mostanáig (“until now”):
| Inflection of most | ||
|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | |
| nominative | most | — |
| accusative | — | — |
| dative | — | — |
| instrumental | — | — |
| causal-final | — | — |
| translative | — | — |
| terminative | mostanáig (mostanig) |
— |
| essive-formal | — | — |
| essive-modal | — | — |
| inessive | — | — |
| superessive | — | — |
| adessive | — | — |
| illative | — | — |
| sublative | mostanra | — |
| allative | — | — |
| elative | — | — |
| delative | — | — |
| ablative | mostantól | — |
| non-attributive possessive - singular |
— | — |
| non-attributive possessive - plural |
— | — |
Derived terms
References
- ^ most in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)
Further reading
- most in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Lower Sorbian
Noun
most m inan (diminutive mosćik)
Declension
Declension of most
Middle English
Etymology 1
Noun
most
- Alternative form of must
Etymology 2
Verb
most
- second-person singular present indicative of moten (“to have to”)
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Middle Low German most, must, from Latin mustum.
Noun
most m (definite singular mosten, indefinite plural moster, definite plural mostene)
- must, (unfermented) fruit juice, particularly grape juice
References
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Middle Low German most, must, from Latin mustum.
Noun
most m (definite singular mosten, indefinite plural mostar, definite plural mostane)
- must, (unfermented) fruit juice, particularly grape juice
References
- “most” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *must.
Noun
most m
Descendants
- German: Most
Polish
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *mȍstъ (“bridge”).
Pronunciation
Noun
most m inan (diminutive mościk, augmentative mościsko)
- bridge (building over a river or valley)
Declension
Declension of most
Derived terms
adjective
adverb
nouns
verb
- mościć impf
phrase
- palić za sobą mosty impf
Further reading
- most in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- most in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *mostъ (“bridge”).
Pronunciation
Noun
mȏst m (Cyrillic spelling мо̑ст)
- bridge (construction or natural feature that spans a divide)
Declension
Declension of most
Derived terms
Slovak
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *mostъ (“bridge”).
Pronunciation
Noun
most m inan (genitive singular mosta, nominative plural mosty, genitive plural mostov, declension pattern of dub)
Declension
Declension of most
Derived terms
Further reading
- “most”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024
Slovene
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *mostъ (“bridge”).
Pronunciation
Noun
mọ̑st m inan
- bridge (construction or natural feature that spans a divide)
Inflection
| Declension of most | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nom. sing. | most | ||
| gen. sing. | mostu | ||
| singular | dual | plural | |
| nominative | most | mostova | mostovi |
| accusative | most | mostova | mostove |
| genitive | mostu | mostov | mostov |
| dative | mostu | mostovoma | mostovom |
| locative | mostu | mostovih | mostovih |
| instrumental | mostom | mostovoma | mostovi |
 |
The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks. |
| Masculine inan., hard o-stem | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nom. sing. | móst | ||
| gen. sing. | mósta | ||
| singular | dual | plural | |
| nominative (imenovȃlnik) |
móst | mósta | mósti |
| genitive (rodȋlnik) |
mósta | móstov | móstov |
| dative (dajȃlnik) |
móstu | móstoma | móstom |
| accusative (tožȋlnik) |
móst | mósta | móste |
| locative (mẹ̑stnik) |
móstu | móstih | móstih |
| instrumental (orọ̑dnik) |
móstom | móstoma | mósti |
Further reading
- “most”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
Volapük
Noun
most (nominative plural mosts)