furthest

1. 1
   adjective

   Farther away than all others being compared, whether in space, time, or degree.

   We could just make out the furthest peak on the hazy horizon.

   The furthest ancestor we can trace in the records lived three centuries ago.

   Similarfarthest, remotest, outermost

   Oppositenearest, closest

2. 2
   adverb

   Farther in space, time, or extent than anyone or anything else being compared.

   The hikers who pushed furthest into the valley found an old cabin.

   Among the swimmers, she went furthest before turning back to shore.

   Similarfarthest

3. 3
   adverb

   To an extent or degree beyond that of any other.

   The reform that goes furthest toward fixing the problem will likely pass.

   He is the one who carries an argument furthest before backing down.

   Similarfarthest

   Note

   Degree rather than distance: the word measures how far a process or argument has been carried. It can sit before a participle with the in front (this civilization was the furthest advanced), which makes it look like the adjective even though it modifies advanced. Otherwise it follows its verb, as in the reform that goes furthest toward a fix.

4. 4
   adjective

   Superlative form of far.

   The probe reached the furthest edge of the solar system.

   Quitting her job was the furthest thing from her mind that spring.

   Note

   The superlative carries every reach of far to its end point: remote in space, remote in time, extreme in degree. That is why it fits both the furthest edge of the solar system and the furthest thing from her mind. As an adjective it nearly always follows the: the furthest house, the furthest corner of the map. Placed after a verb (she walked furthest), the same spelling is the adverb of distance, and its position tells the two apart.

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