uppermost

From Middle English upper-moste; equivalent to upper +‎ -most.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʌpəməʊst/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈʌpɚˌmoʊst/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

uppermost (not comparable)

1. At or nearest the top of something.
   • 2005, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means, Tax reform: hearing before the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, June 8, 2005, Volume 36, Issues 109-123‎:

     Well, to me, if you are restricting it to economic policy — because I can surely think of some noneconomic policy concerns that are more uppermost in my mind.

   • 2015, Lawrence A. Pervin, Goal Concepts in Personality and Social Psychology‎:

     As a result, it is not always an easy matter to evaluate, as an outsider, the effectiveness of a life-task strategy (i.e., sometimes the objective indicators of success and failure do not coincide with the goals most uppermost in a person's mind).

2. Highest in rank, importance, etc.
   • 1990 February 4, Ruth Mountaingrove, “Feeling Less Than A Peer”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 14:

     This brings me to the uppermost problem for over-60-year-old lesbians. Loneliness.

   • 2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 735:

     For him, as for his colleagues, concern with priestly comportment and purity is uppermost.

• upmost

• nethermost

uppermost

1. (rare) superlative form of upper: most upper

uppermost (not comparable)

1. In the highest position.