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Synonyms

at best

Idioms  

  1. Under the most favorable circumstances, as in At best we'll be just one week behind schedule, or Cleaning out the attic is a tedious job at best. This idiom, formerly also put as at the best, today is most often used in situations that are actually far from ideal, as in the examples above. [First half of 1300s] For an antonym, see at worst.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A by-election in Greater Manchester might seem somewhat distant from Scotland - several hundred miles away at best, across a border.

From BBC

“You only have so many tries” suggests his attempts to help could backfire; that language is inflammatory and shaming at worst and unhelpful at best.

From MarketWatch

At worst it seemed the project of a crank, at best an irrelevancy.

From The Wall Street Journal

John Davies, then Bishop of Swansea and Brecon emailed Morgan, who was Archbishop of Wales at that time, and said he hoped Pierce would get a caution at worst or "nothing further done at best".

From BBC

He lives in a shack without running water and sees his family at best every six months.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.