most

The word “most” means the greatest in amount, degree, or number. In plain terms, the word for "the greatest amount" or "the majority" — also used to build superlatives like "most beautiful".

“Most” is pronounced MOHST (/ˈmoʊst/ in IPA).

Here is “most” used in a sentence: “She has the most experience of anyone on the team.”

Depending on how it is used, “most” can be an adjective, a pronoun and an adverb.

The word “most” comes from Old English. From Old English mǣst, related to German meist and Dutch meest — all descending from a Proto-Germanic superlative form.

“Most” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Most” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the greatest in amount, degree, or number.

More is the comparative form, comparing two things, as in 'She has more books than me.' Most is the superlative form, marking the greatest of three or more, as in 'She has the most books.' Use more to compare two; use most to top a whole group.

'Most' without 'the' usually means the majority, as in 'most people agree.' 'The most' marks the highest degree or amount in a comparison, as in 'the most expensive option.' One describes a general majority; the other identifies the top of a group.

The opposite of most is least when talking about degree or amount, as in 'the least expensive.' When counting things, the opposite is fewest, as in 'the fewest mistakes.' In the sense of a majority, the opposite idea is a minority, the smallest part rather than the greatest.

'Most of the students passed the exam.' Here most means the majority of them. Other examples include 'She won the most votes,' marking the greatest number, and 'That was the most fun I've had all year,' showing the highest degree of something.