worsts

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of worst.

   The retrospective grouped the season's bests and worsts into two columns.

   Even their worsts that year would have counted as wins for most teams.

   Note

   A countable plural for a word that usually refuses to count. Most often worst stands with the and an implied noun, as in the worst is over, and takes no -s at all. Worsts appears when low points are tallied as separate items, typically set against bests. The same spelling doubles as the verb for defeating someone, so context tells a list of lows from a victory.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of worst.

   The veteran lawyer routinely worsts younger counsel in cross-examination.

   A clever strategist often worsts a stronger but rasher foe.

   Note

   A present-tense form of a verb with three meanings, all now uncommon. It once meant to make worse, which is now archaic, and to grow worse, which is dated. It can also mean to outdo or defeat, a rare use. Defeat is the likeliest reading today, and it takes an opponent as its object (she worsts her rival) in a somewhat literary register. Keep it apart from the plural noun, which counts low points.

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