Dictionary

at best en · ADP

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. In the most favorable of conditions, especially in a situation that is otherwise negative.
   • Steve Bruce's side have swung from highs to lows in what has been at best a wildly inconsistent start to the season. They experienced a microcosm of this within the opening 45 minutes at the Stadium of Light. 2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:
   • It recalls the business case for Scotland's reopening of the Borders Railway to Tweedbank, that British Rail closed in 1969. The review says the business case for this was at best borderline, but goes on to say that the case greatly underestimated passenger demand and that the railway Scotland built has capped its capacity. 2023 September 6, Philip Haigh, “£30 billion plan to transform the rail network in Ireland”, in RAIL, number 991, page 25:
   • The power of federal officials to issue a national vaccine mandate is questionable at best. 2021 August 6, “Get Vaccinated. Get Masked. It’s the Only Way Out of This.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • 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 hazardous one. 1955 April, R. H. Warring, “Some Early Railway Signals”, in Railway Magazine, page 231:

Forms

Antonyms

at worst

Translations (26)

de bestenfalls (in the most favorable of conditions) · ru в лу́чшем слу́чае (in the most favorable of conditions) · ja 精々 (in the most favorable of conditions) · de höchstens (in the most favorable of conditions) · it quanto meno (in the most favorable of conditions) · it al massimo (in the most favorable of conditions) · es como muy bueno (in the most favorable of conditions) · de allenfalls (in the most favorable of conditions) · hu a legjobb esetben (in the most favorable of conditions) · cs přinejlepším (in the most favorable of conditions) · fi parhaimmillaan (in the most favorable of conditions) · cmn 充其量 (in the most favorable of conditions) · pl w najlepszym razie (in the most favorable of conditions) · de im günstigsten Fall (in the most favorable of conditions) · es a lo sumo (in the most favorable of conditions) · pl w najlepszym wypadku (in the most favorable of conditions) · eo plejbonokaze (in the most favorable of conditions) · ar على أفضل تقدير (in the most favorable of conditions) · fr au mieux (in the most favorable of conditions) · de günstigenfalls (in the most favorable of conditions) · hu legfeljebb (in the most favorable of conditions) · ca com a màxim (in the most favorable of conditions) · ca com a molt (in the most favorable of conditions) · is þegar best lætur (in the most favorable of conditions) · it nel migliore dei casi (in the most favorable of conditions) · es a lo mejor (in the most favorable of conditions)