Link Centre Dictionary

Also Superlative of bad

worst

UK/wɜːst/ US/wɔːst/ common

adjective

1.

(superlative of `bad'') most wanting in quality or value or condition

  • “the worst player on the team”
  • “the worst weather of the year”

noun

1.

the least favorable outcome

  • “the worst that could happen”
2.

the greatest damage or wickedness of which one is capable

  • “the invaders did their worst”
  • “so pure of heart that his worst is another man”
3.

the weakest effort or poorest achievement one is capable of

  • “it was the worst he had ever done on a test”
Antonyms

adverb

1.

to the highest degree of inferiority or badness

  • “She suffered worst of all”
  • “schools were the worst hit by government spending cuts”
  • “the worst dressed person present”

verb

1.

defeat thoroughly

  • “He mopped up the floor with his opponents”

Origin

From Middle English worste, wurste, warste, werste, wirste, from Old English wierrest, from Proto-Germanic *wirsistaz, superlative form of *ubilaz (“bad, evil”); compare worse. Cognate with Old Saxon wirsista, wirrista (“worst”), Old High German wirst, wirsesto, wirsisto (“worst”), Danish værst (“worst”), Swedish värst (“worst”), Icelandic verstur (“worst”).

Phrases

  • at the worst
  • at worst
  • bad comes to worst
  • be one's own worst enemy
  • do one's worst
  • doctors make the worst patients
  • fear the worst
  • get the worst of it

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.