Utmost
//ˈʌtməʊ̯st// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The greatest possible capability, extent, or quantity; maximum. countable, uncountable
"at the utmost to the utmost"
- 2 the greatest possible degree wordnet
Adjective
- 1 superlative form of utter: most utter; situated at the most distant limit; farthest, outermost. form-of, superlative
"the utmost limits of the land"
- 2 The most extreme; greatest, ultimate. not-comparable
"the utmost assiduity"
Adjective
- 1 (comparatives of ‘far’) most remote in space or time or order wordnet
- 2 of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity wordnet
Example
More examples"I'm going to speak to you with utmost candor so I want you to take everything I'm about to say at face value."
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.
Related phrases
More for "utmost"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.