most

 
Pronunciation: /məʊst/

determiner & pronoun

  • greatest in amount or degree: [as determiner]: they’ve had the most success [as pronoun]: she had the most to lose
  • the majority of; nearly all of: [as determiner]: the two-pin sockets found in most European countries [as pronoun]: I spent most of the winter on the coast

adverb

  • 1forming the superlative of adjectives and adverbs, especially those of more than one syllable: the most important event of my life he was the most ambitious of all
  • 2to the greatest extent: the things he most enjoyed what she wanted most of all
  • 3extremely; very: it was most kind of you that is most probably correct
  • 4North American informal almost: most everyone understood

Phrases

at (the) most

not more than: the walk took four minutes at the most

be the most

informal be the best of all.

for the most part

in most cases; usually: the older members, for the most part, shun him

make the most of

use to the best advantage: he was eager to make the most of his visit
represent at its best: how to make the most of your features

Origin:

Old English māst, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch meest and German meist