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at best

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Idioms and Phrases

Under the most favorable circumstances, as in At best we'll be just one week behind schedule , or Cleaning out the attic is a tedious job at best . This idiom, formerly also put as at the best , today is most often used in situations that are actually far from ideal, as in the examples above. [First half of 1300s] For an antonym, see at worst .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The campaign to protest potential Medicaid cuts will focus on six House districts where use of the federally funded health system is high and where Republicans hold, at best, a narrow electoral advantage.

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He has remained in power without election for many years, presiding over a PA that is seen by its critics as ineffective at best and corrupt at worst.

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Still, at best, you’re a hopeless romantic to think that Donald Trump isn’t all that bad just because he was able to keep it together for two hours.

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Both men, possessing mediocre intelligence at best, no doubt resent it when those foreigners are far smarter or more accomplished than they will ever be.

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And inadequate feedback can cause annoyance at best, and injury at worst.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

at bay at bottom

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