at least
∞
1.0
- idiom
- /ət liːst/
:
al menos
- Did you at least get what you came for?
- at least one
- at least two
- at least three years
If it all goes ahead, Well, I'd need at least three months.
- If it all goes ahead, Well, I'd need at least three months.
- So let's start out with you at least at four years old.
- I think I think at least two guys, two men.
- Everybody has to smile for at least an hour of their day.
- And it is at least a three-part story.
- I just, I think you need at least one hue light.
- I go through my sets at least five to seven times.
- They're saying we're homeschooling at least until then at the moment.
- That should take them at least through July, August.
- It's valuing others more highly, or at least as highly as yourself.
- To some extent, we can at least make that presumption.
- One last thing, I am planning on doing at least one monthly challenge.
- It was a very wild sex tape with at least three participants.
Examples
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Well, you and I at least know the answer to that question.
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I expect that I may want at least one more font.
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Everybody has to smile for at least an hour of their day.
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And it seems to me that that means at least two things.
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I go through my sets at least five to seven times.
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But the U.S. drug problem was at least as severe then as it is now.
Academic text (2011) -
If it all goes ahead, Well, I'd need at least three months.
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Why then did you advocate at least partial investment?
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Incoming students' knowledge will consist of at least basic algebra and science concepts.
Academic text (2011) -
The baby must be at least one month old now.
Synonyms
141
3.4
To say the thing just said is the least you should do
16
2.4
Not less than the minimum that is expected or needed
Antonyms
How Many
Surface Forms
Morphology
at + least
The sense ‘minimum’ or a consolatory ‘anyway/at the very least’ is directly built from 'at' (indicating a point/degree) + 'least' (the smallest degree), so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE meaning. This construction follows a regular compositional pattern (indicating a lower bound or concession) that is common across languages and thus readily understandable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
At least paints a simple picture: at marks a point on a ruler and least means the smallest amount, so imagine a mark that shows the lowest number that is still enough. That's why at least means 'not less than' a certain amount.