# maximum

Pronunciation: say "MAK-si-muhm" /ˈmæksɪməm/

## Adjective

1. Of the highest degree, amount, or intensity that is possible or permitted.
   - Simple: As large, high, or strong as is possible or allowed.
   - _The engine delivers maximum power at six thousand rpm._
   - _Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence allowed under the law._

## Noun

2. The highest limit; the greatest amount, number, or degree that can be reached or allowed.
   - Simple: The largest amount or number that is allowed or possible.
   - _The bank sets a maximum of five thousand dollars on new credit cards._
   - _Wind speeds reached their maximum just before the storm moved offshore._
4. In mathematics and statistics, the largest value in a set, sample or distribution, or the highest value a function reaches over all or part of its domain.
   - Simple: In math and statistics, the biggest number in a group of values, or the highest point a graph reaches.
   - _The temperature function reaches its maximum around midafternoon._
   - _The curve has two local maxima before it decreases toward zero._
5. A prison or prison unit run at the highest level of security; short for maximum security. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A prison, or a part of one, with the strictest rules and guards.
   - _The gang's leader is serving his sentence in maximum._
   - _Visits become rare once an inmate lands in maximum._

## Adverb

3. Used after a number or amount to show that it is the upper limit: at the most.
   - Simple: Not more than. You say it after a number to give the highest amount.
   - _We agreed to spend fifty dollars, maximum, on the office gift._
   - _The rescue boat can carry eight people maximum, so they made two trips._

## Other meanings

- (noun) In snooker, a break of 147 points, made by potting all fifteen reds, each followed by the black, and then all six colors in one visit: the standard maximum.
- (noun) In darts, a score of 180 from a single turn of three darts, the highest total possible in one visit to the board.
- (noun) In cricket, a shot that scores six runs, made by hitting the ball over the boundary without it touching the ground.

## Origin

The word came into English from French, which took it from the Latin "maximum."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/maximum (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).