Least

English

Most common English words: says « wife « hear « #310: least » person » case » fact

Pronunciation

• IPA: /liːst/, SAMPA: /li:st/

• Audio (US)	noicon
  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːst
• Homophones: leased

Determiner

Least (comparative less)

1. Template:Superlative of;The smallest amount of [something uncountable].

   He earns the least money in his family.

   Of all the sisters, she has the least patience.

   I can only afford to pay the least of the bills.

   • 1857, Edmund March Blunt, The American Coast Pilot: Containing Directions for the Principal Harbors, E. & G.W. Blunt, page 135:

     The least water we could find there was 4 fathoms, which bears from the point S.E., and is distant 1½ mile.

   • 2004, Jim Baggott, Beyond Measure: Modern Physics, Philosophy, and the Meaning of Quantum Theory, Oxford University Press, page 48:

     Light does not need to know in advance which is the path of least time because it takes all paths from its source to its destination.

Usage notes

Some grammarians recommend to use least only with uncountable nouns, as in the examples above with the smallest amount of sense:

• 1965, H. W. Fowler, Fowler’s Modern English Usage: Second Edition:

  [W]hen the context—unemotional statement of everyday facts—is taken into account, at a less price ought to be at a lower price, and a lesser prize ought to be a smaller prize.

To such grammarians least is the superlative of a little, not that of little, so it does not mean smallest, but the smallest amount of. With plural nouns, they recommend fewest.

Translations

the smallest amount of

Arabic: اقل (’aqálla) Chinese: 最少 (zuìshǎo) Dutch: minst nl(nl) Finnish: vähin fi(fi), pienin fi(fi) French: moindre fr(fr) German: geringst de(de) Hungarian: legkisebb hu(hu)

Italian: minimo it(it) Japanese: 最小の (さいしょうの, saishō no) Korean: 가장 적게 (gajang jeokge) Portuguese: mínimo pt(pt) Russian: наименьший ru(ru) (naimén’šij) Spanish: mínimo es(es) Swedish: minst sv(sv)

Adverb

Least (negative superlative)

1. Used for forming superlatives of adjectives, especially those that do not form the superlative by adding -est.

   It was the least surprising thing.

Antonyms

• most

Translations

• Finnish: vähiten fi(fi)
• French: moindre fr(fr); moins fr(fr)
• Italian: meno it(it)

Derived terms

terms derived from "least"

at least last but not least least bittern least common denominator least flycatcher least of all least resistance least sandpiper

least shrew least upper bound least weasel log-linear least-squares method method of least squares not the least bit path of least resistance to say the least

Anagrams

• aelst,
• leats
• salet
• setal
• slate
• stale
• steal
• stela
• taels
• tales
• teals
• tesla

et:least es:least fa:least fr:least ko:least io:least it:least kn:least ku:least lo:least hu:least ml:least ja:least pl:least pt:least simple:least fi:least sv:least ta:least te:least vi:least zh:least