utmost
adjectiveadjectivenounattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈʌtməʊ̯st//
- United Kingdom//ˈʌtməst//
- United States//ˈʌtmoʊ̯st//
- United States/[ˈʌʔ-]/
- United States/[ˈət-]/
The most extreme; greatest, ultimate.
adjective
- 1
Also a form of uttersuperlative form of utter: most utter; situated at the most distant limit; farthest, outermost.
the utmost limits of the land
the utmost extent of human knowledge
Betwixt two thieves I [Jesus] ſpend my utmoſt breath, / As he that for ſome robberie ſuffereth.
[W]e coaſted within 2 leagues of Antibes, which is the utmoſt towne in France.
Etymology
PIE word *úd From Middle English utmost, utemest [and other forms], from Old English ūtmest, ūtemest [and other forms], from ūt, ūte (“out; outdoors, outside”) + -mest (suffix meaning ‘furthest’, used to form superlatives of some adjectives) (and conflated with most). Ūt is derived from Proto-Germanic *ūt (“out, outward”), from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“out, outward”). Equivalent to out + -most.
adjective
- 1
The most extreme; greatest, ultimate.
the utmost assiduity
the utmost harmony
the utmost misery or happiness
Ile go to him, and vndertake to bring him in peace, / Where he ſhall anſwer by a lawfull Forme, / (In peace) to his vtmoſt perill.
noun
- 1
The greatest possible capability, extent, or quantity; maximum.
at the utmost to the utmost
[...] I am reſolved to pluck up the heart of a man, and to try my utmoſt to get from under his hand.
[T]he utmoſt they could do, was to perſuade Him to lay aſide all Rancor and Diſcontent againſt thoſe Confederate Lords, and to hearken to their deſires.
But Scrooge was all the worse for this. It thrilled him with a vague uncertain horror, to know that behind the dusky shroud there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him, while he, though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black.
Forms
- plural
- utmosts
utmost · The most extreme; greatest, ultimate.
utopia · A world in which everything and everyone works in perfect…utter · To the furthest or most extreme extent; absolute, complete,…Utter · A surname.