most
most Lexical Profile
most Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
In the majority of instances; the greatest part or number of.
"Most birds in this region migrate south before the winter frost arrives."
Greatest in amount, quantity, or degree; serving as the superlative of 'much' (with uncountable nouns) or 'many' (with plural countable nouns).
"The candidate who receives the most votes will win the election."
• adverb
To the greatest extent or degree; used with adjectives and adverbs of more than one syllable to form the superlative.
"That was the most fascinating lecture of the entire semester."
Very or extremely; to a high degree.
"The hosts were most welcoming to all the visiting scholars."
North American Almost or nearly (used informally before words like 'all', 'every', 'everyone', or 'always').
"Most everyone in the neighborhood attended the annual block party."
• noun
The greatest amount, quantity, or degree possible (usually preceded by 'the').
"She made the most of her brief internship at the research institute."
• pronoun
The majority or greatest part of a specified or implied group of people or things.
"Several manuscripts were damaged in the flood, but most were successfully restored."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to a general majority, use 'most' directly before a noun without 'of' (e.g., 'Most people agree'); use 'most of' only when followed by a specific determiner or pronoun (e.g., 'Most of the people in this room' or 'Most of them'). In formal writing, avoid using 'most' as a shortened form of 'almost' (e.g., write 'almost everyone' rather than 'most everyone').
• Rhymes for most
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'mæst', of Proto-Germanic origin, serving historically as the superlative degree of 'much' and 'many'.