Adjacent Words

Least definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LEAST, a.
Smallest; little beyond others, either in size or degree; as the least insect; the least mercy.
Least is often used without the noun to which it refers. "I am the least of the apostles," that is, the least apostle of all the apostles. 1 Corinthians 15.
LEAST, adv.
1. In the smallest or lowest degree; in a degree below all others; as, to reward those who least deserve it.
At least,
At the least, To say no more; not to demand or affirm more than is barely sufficient; at the lowest degree. If he has not incurred a penalty, he at least deserves censure.
He who tempts, though vain, at least asperses the tempted with dishonor.
2. To say no more. Let useful observations be at least a part of your conversation.
The least, in the smallest degree. His faculties are not in the least impaired.
At leastwise, in the sense of at least, is obsolete.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: the superlative of `little' that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by `the'; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree; "didn't care the least bit"; "he has the least talent of anyone" [ant: most] n
1: something that is of no importance; "it is the least I can do"; "that is the least of my concerns" adv
1: used to form the superlative; "The garter snake is the least dangerous snake" [syn: least, to the lowest degree] [ant: most, to the highest degree]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective, superlative of (I){little} Etymology: Middle English leest, from Old English l?st, superlative of l?ssa less Date: before 12th century 1. lowest in importance or position 2. a. smallest in size or degree b. being a member of a kind distinguished by diminutive size <the least bittern> c. smallest possible ; slightest II. noun Date: 12th century one that is least III. adverb, superlative of (II){little} Date: 13th century in the smallest or lowest degree

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., n., & adv. --adj. 1 smallest, slightest, most insignificant. 2 (prec. by the; esp. with neg.) any at all (it does not make the least difference). 3 (of a species or variety) very small (least tern). --n. the least amount. --adv. in the least degree. Phrases and idioms: at least 1 at all events; anyway; even if there is doubt about a more extended statement. 2 (also at the least) not less than. in the least (or the least) (usu. with neg.) in the smallest degree; at all (not in the least offended). least common denominator, multiple see DENOMINATOR, MULTIPLE. to say the least (or the least of it) used to imply the moderation of a statement (that is doubtful to say the least). Etymology: OE læst, læsest f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Least Least, adv. In the smallest or lowest degree; in a degree below all others; as, to reward those who least deserve it.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Least Least, conj. See Lest, conj. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Least Least, a. [OE. last, lest, AS. l?sast, l?sest, superl. of l?ssa less. See Less, a.] [Used as the superlative of little.] Smallest, either in size or degree; shortest; lowest; most unimportant; as, the least insect; the least mercy; the least space. Note: Least is often used with the, as if a noun. I am the least of the apostles. --1 Cor. xv. 9. At least, or At the least, at the least estimate, consideration, chance, etc.; hence, at any rate; at all events; even. See However. He who tempts, though in vain, at least asperses The tempted with dishonor. --Milton. Upon the mast they saw a young man, at least if he were a man, who sat as on horseback. --Sir P. Sidney. In least, or In the least, in the least degree, manner, etc. ``He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.'' --Luke xvi. 10. Least squares (Math.), a method of deducing from a number of carefully made yet slightly discordant observations of a phenomenon the most probable values of the unknown quantities. Note: It takes as its fundamental principle that the most probable values are those which make the sum of the squares of the residual errors of the observation a minimum.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: 'Least' is often considered to be the superlative form of 'little'. 1. You use at least to say that a number or amount is the smallest that is possible or likely and that the actual number or amount may be greater. The forms at the least and at the very least are also used. Aim to have at least half a pint of milk each day... Normally it has only had eleven or twelve members in all. Now it will have seventeen at the very least. PHRASE: PHR amount, amount PHR 2. You use at least to say that something is the minimum that is true or possible. The forms at the least and at the very least are also used. She could take a nice holiday at least... At the least, I needed some sleep... His possession of classified documents in his home was, at the very least, a violation of Navy security regulations. PHRASE: PHR with cl/group 3. You use at least to indicate an advantage that exists in spite of the disadvantage or bad situation that has just been mentioned. We've no idea what his state of health is but at least we know he is still alive... If something awful happens to you at least you can write about it. PHRASE: PHR with cl 4. You use at least to indicate that you are correcting or changing something that you have just said. It's not difficult to get money for research or at least it's not always difficult... PHRASE: PHR with cl/group 5. You use the least to mean a smaller amount than anyone or anything else, or the smallest amount possible. I try to offend the least amount of people possible... If you like cheese, go for the ones with the least fat. ? most ADJ: the ADJ n • Least is also a pronoun. On education funding, Japan performs best but spends the least per student. ? most PRON: the PRON • Least is also an adverb. Damming the river may end up benefitting those who need it the least. ADV: the ADV after v 6. You use least to indicate that someone or something has less of a particular quality than most other things of its kind. The least experienced athletes had caused a great many false-starts through the day's proceedings... ? most ADV: ADV adj/adv 7. You use the least to emphasize the smallness of something, especially when it hardly exists at all. I don't have the least idea of what you're talking about... They neglect their duty at the least hint of fun elsewhere... ADJ: the ADJ n [emphasis] 8. You use least to indicate that something is true or happens to a smaller degree or extent than anything else or at any other time. He had a way of throwing her off guard with his charm when she least expected it. ? most ADV: ADV with v 9. You use least in structures where you are emphasizing that a particular situation or event is much less important or serious than other possible or actual ones. Having to get up at three o'clock every morning was the least of her worries... At that moment, they were among the least of the concerns of the government. ADJ: ADJ of def-n [emphasis] 10. You use the least in structures where you are stating the minimum that should be done in a situation, and suggesting that more should really be done. Well, the least you can do, if you won't help me yourself, is to tell me where to go instead... The least his hotel could do is provide a little privacy. PRON: the PRON cl 11. You can use in the least and the least bit to emphasize a negative. I'm not like that at all. Not in the least... I'm not in the least bit touched by the Marilyn Monroe kind of beauty... Alice wasn't the least bit frightened. PHRASE: with brd-neg, PHR with cl, PHR adj [emphasis] 12. You use last but not least to say that the last person or thing to be mentioned is as important as all the others. ...her four sons, Christopher, twins Daniel and Nicholas, and last but not least 2-year-old Jack. PHRASE: PHR with cl/group 13. You can use least of all after a negative statement to emphasize that it applies especially to the person or thing mentioned. No one ever reads these articles, least of all me... Such a speech should never have been made, least of all by a so called responsible politician. PHRASE: with brd-neg, PHR cl/group [emphasis] 14. You can use not least to emphasize a particularly important example or reason. Dieting can be bad for you, not least because it is a cause of stress... Everyone is more reluctant to travel these days, not least the Americans. PHRASE: PHR cl/group [emphasis] 15. You can use to say the least to suggest that a situation is actually much more extreme or serious than you say it is. Accommodation was basic to say the least... Some members of the public can be a bit abusive to say the least. PHRASE: PHR with cl [emphasis]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Smallest, minutest. II. ad. In the smallest degree.

Moby Thesaurus

at a disadvantage, at the nadir, below, below the mark, few, homely, humble, humble-looking, humble-visaged, humblest, in the gutter, inglorious, innocuous, least of all, less, littlest, low, lowest, lowliest, lowly, mean, minim, minimum, minority, minority group, modest, plain, poor, short of, shortest, simple, slightest, small, smallest, teachable, the few, the minority, under, under par, undistinguished, unimportant, unpretentious, we happy few