Most vs. Least

determiners least most quantifiers

'Most' and 'least' are two words that are completely different from each other. Let us start learning about these two words.

"Most" vs. "Least" in the English Grammar

What Are Their Main Differences?

When it comes to meaning, 'most' means the largest amount or number, while 'least' means the smallest amount or number.

	comparative	superlative
little	less	the least
many	more	the most

Differences

Meaning

'Most' and 'least' are both can be used as a determiner before countable and uncountable nouns. In this case 'most' is the superlative form of 'many' and 'least' is the superlative form of 'little'.

Most dresses on this show are made of silk.

Which method causes the least damage to the environment?

As an adverb, they can come before adjectives to make superlative forms of longer adjectives and the majority of adverbs.

She is the most beautiful girl.

She is the least beautiful girl.

My least favorite job is to babysit.

My most favorite job is to babysit.

What about Using a Noun Phrase or Pronoun after 'Most' and 'Least'?

'Most of' and 'least of':

is used before noun phrases and pronouns.

Leave them alone most of them are juniors trying to have fun.

Believe me; being in a baby shower party is the least of my worries now.

At Least as an Idiom

At least refers to a minimum number or amount, meaning 'no less than'.

You are supposed to write at least 5 examples to get the whole mark.

At least nine of you are going to be doctors.

At (the) most is used to say that we think an amount cannot be larger than the amount you are mentioning.

It'll take 20 minutes at the most.

There were at most 50 people in the audience.

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