"at best" meaning in English

See at best in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: en-au-at best.ogg [Australia]
Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} at best, {{en-prep phrase}} at best
  1. In the most favorable of conditions; at the most. Synonyms: at the best Translations (in the most favorable of conditions): com a molt (Catalan), com a màxim (Catalan), 充其量 (chōngqíliàng) (Chinese Mandarin), přinejlepším (Czech), plejbonokaze (Esperanto), parhaimmillaan (Finnish), au mieux (French), bestenfalls (German), günstigenfalls (German), im günstigsten Fall (German), allenfalls (German), höchstens (German), a legjobb esetben (Hungarian), legfeljebb (Hungarian), þegar best lætur (Icelandic), nel migliore dei casi (Italian), al massimo (Italian), quanto meno (Italian), 精々 (seizei) (alt: せいぜい) (Japanese), w najlepszym wypadku (Polish), w najlepszym razie (Polish), в лу́чшем слу́чае (v lúčšem slúčaje) (Russian)

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for at best meaning in English (5.2kB)

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "at worst"
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "at best",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "at best",
      "name": "en-prep phrase"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant script codes",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport",
          "text": "Steve Bruce's side have swung from highs to lows in what has been at best a wildly inconsistent start to the season. They experienced a microcosm of this within the opening 45 minutes at the Stadium of Light.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 August 6, “Get Vaccinated. Get Masked. It’s the Only Way Out of This.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "The power of federal officials to issue a national vaccine mandate is questionable at best.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 September 6, Philip Haigh, “£30 billion plan to transform the rail network in Ireland”, in RAIL, number 991, page 25",
          "text": "It recalls the business case for Scotland's reopening of the Borders Railway to Tweedbank, that British Rail closed in 1969. The review says the business case for this was at best borderline, but goes on to say that the case greatly underestimated passenger demand and that the railway Scotland built has capped its capacity.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In the most favorable of conditions; at the most."
      ],
      "id": "en-at_best-en-prep_phrase-ANVJGGvh",
      "links": [
        [
          "favorable",
          "favorable"
        ],
        [
          "condition",
          "condition"
        ],
        [
          "most",
          "most"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "at the best"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "com a molt"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "com a màxim"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "chōngqíliàng",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "充其量"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "přinejlepším"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "plejbonokaze"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "parhaimmillaan"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "au mieux"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "bestenfalls"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "günstigenfalls"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "im günstigsten Fall"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "allenfalls"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "höchstens"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "a legjobb esetben"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "legfeljebb"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "þegar best lætur"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "nel migliore dei casi"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "al massimo"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "quanto meno"
        },
        {
          "alt": "せいぜい",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "seizei",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "精々"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "w najlepszym wypadku"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "w najlepszym razie"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "v lúčšem slúčaje",
          "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
          "word": "в лу́чшем слу́чае"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-at best.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/29/En-au-at_best.ogg/En-au-at_best.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/En-au-at_best.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "at best"
}
{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "at worst"
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "at best",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "at best",
      "name": "en-prep phrase"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English evaluative adverbs",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
        "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport",
          "text": "Steve Bruce's side have swung from highs to lows in what has been at best a wildly inconsistent start to the season. They experienced a microcosm of this within the opening 45 minutes at the Stadium of Light.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 August 6, “Get Vaccinated. Get Masked. It’s the Only Way Out of This.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "The power of federal officials to issue a national vaccine mandate is questionable at best.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 September 6, Philip Haigh, “£30 billion plan to transform the rail network in Ireland”, in RAIL, number 991, page 25",
          "text": "It recalls the business case for Scotland's reopening of the Borders Railway to Tweedbank, that British Rail closed in 1969. The review says the business case for this was at best borderline, but goes on to say that the case greatly underestimated passenger demand and that the railway Scotland built has capped its capacity.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In the most favorable of conditions; at the most."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "favorable",
          "favorable"
        ],
        [
          "condition",
          "condition"
        ],
        [
          "most",
          "most"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-at best.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/29/En-au-at_best.ogg/En-au-at_best.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/En-au-at_best.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "at the best"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "com a molt"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "com a màxim"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "chōngqíliàng",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "充其量"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "přinejlepším"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "plejbonokaze"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "parhaimmillaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "au mieux"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "bestenfalls"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "günstigenfalls"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "im günstigsten Fall"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "allenfalls"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "höchstens"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "a legjobb esetben"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "legfeljebb"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "þegar best lætur"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "nel migliore dei casi"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "al massimo"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "quanto meno"
    },
    {
      "alt": "せいぜい",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "seizei",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "精々"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "w najlepszym wypadku"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "w najlepszym razie"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "v lúčšem slúčaje",
      "sense": "in the most favorable of conditions",
      "word": "в лу́чшем слу́чае"
    }
  ],
  "word": "at best"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.