worst
part of speech
adjective (bad, worse, worst); adverb (badly, worse, worst); noun (the worst)
meaning for a pupil
1) Worst means the most bad of all. tree →
2) The worst is the most bad thing that can happen. tree →
3) At worst means if things go as badly as they can. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: the lowest score or result, or the longest time in a race; in «worst case» problems, count the unluckiest picks first, then add one to be sure. In weather and health: the worst storm, the worst of the cold is over. Phrases: the worst, at worst, worst case, if the worst comes to the worst, the worst part.
examples
- Her worst score was 6. tree →
- In the worst case, how many must you pick? tree →
- Which day had the worst weather? tree →
- His worst time was 12 seconds. tree →
- That was the worst film I have ever seen. tree →
- The worst part of the trip was the long wait. tree →
- Hope for the best and plan for the worst. tree →
- At worst, we will be ten minutes late. tree →
- He was the worst king that England ever had. tree →
note
Superlative of «bad»: bad, worse, worst. Never «baddest» or «most worst». Opposite: best. Pick the lowest score, or the longest time for a race. «Worst case» means count the unlucky picks first, then add one.
In the corpora
- The news mostly reports the worst and most urgent events, because that is what feels important to report.
- It shows the worst moments, because what is new and unusual today is what makes the news.
- Radiation still harms living things in the worst spots, and scientists argue how much.
- The Rat: «The worst of it is, I don't exactly know where we are.
- The worst is over.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «worst» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.