Word.ws English Dictionary

at the best

at the best is the alternative form of at best.

Meaning of at best

Prepositional phrase

  1. In the most favorable of conditions, especially in a situation that is otherwise negative.
    • The signalman, as such, was unknown at first. At junctions, or for shunting, the pointsman was responsible both for setting the points and working the appropriate signals, the two being independent. As a result, accidents were comparatively frequent, and the pointsman's job was, at best, a...1955 April, R. H. Warring, “Some Early Railway Signals”, in Railway Magazine, page 231
    Antonyms:
    at worst

Questions about at the best

What is at the best the alternative form of?
At the best is the alternative form of at best.

Words near at the best in the dictionary

  1. at table
  2. at ten and two
  3. at that
  4. at that time
  5. at the bank
  6. at the best
  7. at the best of times
  8. at the bottom of
  9. at the bottom of the pile
  10. at the coal face
  11. at the corner

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: at the best (page history and authors); at best (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “at the best.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/at_the_best. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.