most

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   used to form the superlative

   the king cobra is the most dangerous snake

2. 2
   adv

   very

   a most welcome relief

3. 3
   det

   superlative degree of much.

   The teams competed to see who could collect (the) most money.

4. 4
   det

   superlative degree of many: the comparatively largest number of (construed with the definite article)

   The team with the most points wins.

5. 5
   det

   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.

6. 6
   adv

   Forms the superlative of many adjectives.

   This is the most important example.

7. 7
   adv

   To a great extent or degree; highly; very.

   This is a most unusual specimen.

8. 8
   adv

   superlative degree of much

   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.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Middle English English most 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”).