Least — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

something that is of no importance

the superlative of `little' that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by `the'; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/lˈiːst/

🇬🇧British English

/lˈiːst/

🇮🇳Indian English

/lˈiːst/

1 syllable Say it as /lˈiːst/.

Examples

it is the least I can do
that is the least of my concerns
didn't care the least bit

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to the lowest degree

Antonyms

most

Parts of Speech

noun	something that is of no importance “it is the least I can do”
adjective	the superlative of `little' that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by `the'; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree “didn't care the least bit”
adverb	used to form the superlative “The garter snake is the least dangerous snake”

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

am wenigsten

etwas, das keine Bedeutung hat

🇫🇷French

moins

quelque chose qui n'a aucune importance

🇪🇸Spanish

el menos

algo que no tiene importancia

🇮🇹Italian

meno

qualcosa che non ha importanza

🇳🇱Dutch

minst

iets dat van geen enkel belang is

🇵🇹Portuguese

ao menos

algo que não tem importância

🇷🇺Russian

наименее

что-то, что не имеет значения

India

🇮🇳Hindi

कम से कम

कुछ ऐसा जिसका कोई महत्व नहीं है

🇧🇩Bengali

অন্তত

এমন কিছু যা গুরুত্ব দেয় না

🇮🇳Tamil

குறைந்தது

முக்கியத்துவம் இல்லாத ஒன்று

🇮🇳Telugu

కనీసం

ప్రాముఖ్యత లేని విషయం

🇮🇳Marathi

किमान

ज्याला काही महत्व नाही

🇮🇳Gujarati

ઓછામાં ઓછું

જેનું કોઈ મહત્વ નથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕನಿಷ್ಠ

ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆ ಇಲ್ಲದ ವಿಷಯ

🇮🇳Malayalam

കുറഞ്ഞത്

ഒരു പ്രാധാന്യവുമില്ലാത്ത ഒന്ന്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਘੱਟੋ-ਘੱਟ

ਕੋਈ ਚੀਜ਼ ਜਿਸਦਾ ਕੋਈ ਮਹੱਤਵ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

کم از کم

ایسی چیز جس کی کوئی اہمیت نہ ہو۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

至少

不重要的事情

🇯🇵Japanese

少しでも

重要ではない何か

🇰🇷Korean

최소

중요하지 않은 일

🇻🇳Vietnamese

ít nhất

một cái gì đó không quan trọng

🇹🇭Thai

น้อยที่สุด

สิ่งที่ไม่สำคัญ

🇮🇩Indonesian

paling sedikit

sesuatu yang tidak penting

🇵🇭Filipino

hindi bababa sa

isang bagay na walang kahalagahan

🇲🇾Malay

paling kurang

sesuatu yang tidak penting

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الأقل

شيء ليس له أهمية

🇮🇷Persian

حداقل

چیزی که هیچ اهمیتی ندارد

🇹🇷Turkish

en az

hiçbir önemi olmayan bir şey

🇮🇱Hebrew

פָּחוּת

משהו שאין לו חשיבות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'least'?

The primary meaning of 'least' is 'something that is of no importance'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'least' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'least' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'least' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'least' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'least' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'least' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'least' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'least' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'least' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'least' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted