# worst

Pronunciation: say "WURST" US /wɜɹst/, UK /wɜːst/

## Adjective

1. Least good of all: lowest in quality or usefulness, or least favorable or desirable of all the possibilities.
   - Simple: Worse than all the others, the least good or the least wanted.
   - _This was the worst possible time for the car to break down._
   - _Of all the routes home, that detour gave us the worst traffic._
2. Most serious or severe of all, of something bad or harmful such as a storm, an illness, an injury or a crisis.
   - Simple: More harmful or more serious than anything else.
   - _The worst storms of the season hit the coast in late August._
   - _Doctors treated the patients with the worst injuries first._
3. Used after the, with the noun left unsaid, to mean the one that is worse than all the others.
   - Simple: Used with "the" to mean the one that is worse than all the others, when it is clear what you mean.
   - _Of the four hotels we stayed in, the one by the airport was by far the worst._
   - _Every team in the league had a bad season, but ours was the worst._

## Noun

4. The most inferior, harmful, or unpleasant person or thing within a group.
   - Simple: The person or thing that is worse than all the rest.
   - _The golfer shot a 92, a career worst that he blamed on the wind._
   - _Among all the apartments we toured that week, the one above the noisy bar was easily the worst of the lot._

## Adverb

5. Superlative of badly. — superlative form of badly: most badly; least well.
   - Simple: Superlative of badly. Use this form to say something was done in the least good way.
   - _Among the regional offices, the eastern branch performed worst last quarter._
   - _Older engines run worst in extreme cold._

## Verb

6. To grow worse; to decline or deteriorate over time. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To get worse over time.
7. To make something worse; to aggravate or increase the severity of a condition. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To make something worse than it was.
8. To defeat or get the better of an opponent, especially in combat or contest. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To beat or defeat someone, especially in a fight.
   - _The rebels managed to worst the royal guard at the river crossing._
   - _Clever tactics let the underdogs worst a far stronger army._

## Origin

From Middle English "worste," from Old English "wierrest," from Proto-Germanic "*wirsistaz," the superlative of "*ubilaz" ("bad, evil"); compare "worse." It is cognate with Danish "værst," Swedish "värst," and Icelandic "verstur," all meaning "worst."

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