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Glite Dictionary
🔽 Smallest amount 🔽 Smallest degree 🔽 Smallest part
least

least

1 1.0
A very small amount or something of low importance
  • noun
  • /liːst/
translation icon : mínimo
  • The 12 Companies Paying Americans the Least

They, they, they seem to be the least of our problems.

Examples

  • Gosh, that was the least safe thing I've ever seen.

  • The easiest things are usually the least meaningful things, though.

  • The easiest things are usually the least meaningful things, though.

  • Title: Dharma & The Bomb Least

    Blog text (30)

  • Let's now talk about everyone's least favorite variant, Omicron.

  • The great thing about Kansas is that it is laid out in what William Least-Heat Moon calls the great Jeffersonian grid.

    Blog text (20)

  • The new policy has the least impact on small businesses.

  • Of all the options available, this one is ranked at least important.

  • She prioritized her tasks, starting with the least urgent first.

Synonyms

minimum
vsleast
∞ 1.0

As small in amount or degree as is allowed

means the smallest amount or lowest importance rather than allowed size

Antonyms

greatest
70 1.0

Better than all others in quality or importance

Idioms

at least
∞ 1.0

Not less than a certain amount or number

at least
∞ 1.3

To point out a small positive in a bad situation

at the very least
141 3.4

To say the thing just said is the least you should do

to say the least
  • Informal
66 4.2

Shows that something is much worse than it seems

the least bit
51 3.7

There is not even a small amount

in the least
46 4.4

Not at all, not even a little

last but not least
28 3.4

Introduce the last person or thing and show they are equally important

least of all
23 4.6

Shows that a person or thing is less likely than others to do something

not in the least
22 2.0

Not at all, not even a little bit

at the least
16 2.4

Not less than the minimum that is expected or needed

least said, soonest mended
  • Informal
9.9

Saying very little about a problem helps people fix it quickly

Compounds

path of least resistance
  • Informal
7 3.9

The easiest choice that avoids difficulty or conflict

least resistance
  • Informal
4 4.2

A way of doing something that tries to avoid effort or a fight

least worst
1 8.0

The best choice among several bad options

least effort
1 3.4

The smallest amount of work needed to do something

least squares
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A method that fits a line or curve to data by making squared errors as small as possible

least bittern
  • US
9.9

A very small heron that hides in reeds in marshes

least common multiple
  • Specialized
4.4

The smallest number that two or more numbers divide evenly into

least sandpiper
  • US
9.6

A very small bird that lives on coasts in North America with yellow green legs

least shrew
  • US
9.9

A very small brown mammal like a mouse that lives in grassy areas in the eastern United States

line of least resistance
  • Informal
4.4

An easy choice that avoids trouble or argument

method of least squares
  • Specialized
7.0

A way to fit a line or curve to data by making squared errors as small as possible

New World least weasel
  • US
9.3

A very small wild mammal in Canada and northeastern United States that turns white in winter

Old World least weasel
  • UK
9.2

A very small weasel from Europe and Asia with a long thin body and short legs

How Much

a lot
∞ 1.0
some
∞ 1.0
a little
∞ 1.0
least
1 1.0
nothing
17 1.0

Surface Forms

least singular
least plural

Etymology

The noun least comes from an old English word for 'smallest' and is related to less, so when you say 'in the least' you mean 'by the smallest amount' or 'not at all'.