worst

English Online Dictionary. What means worst‎? What does worst mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English worste, wurste, warste, werste, wirste, from Old English wierrest, from Proto-Germanic *wirsistaz, superlative form of *ubilaz (“bad, evil”). Cognate with Old Saxon wirsista, wirrista (“worst”), Old High German wirst, wirsesto, wirsisto (“worst”), Danish værst (“worst”), Swedish värst (“worst”), Icelandic verstur (“worst”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /wɜːst/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /wɝst/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)st

Adjective

worst

1. superlative form of bad: most bad
   1. Most inferior; doing the least good.

   2. Most unfavorable.

   3. Most harmful or severe.

   4. Used with the definite article and an implied noun: something that is worst.

Usage notes

The comparative badder (for worse) and superlative baddest (for worst) derived from the positive bad are nonstandard. Worst may be further inflected to form the two additional superlatives worstest (nonstandard) and worstestest (informal, humorous). The comparative worser is also nonstandard.

Synonyms

• (most bad): baddest (nonstandard)

Antonyms

• best

Derived terms

Related terms

• worse

Translations

Adverb

worst

1. superlative form of badly: most badly

Translations

Noun

worst (plural worsts)

1. Something or someone that is the worst.

Translations

Verb

worst (third-person singular simple present worsts, present participle worsting, simple past and past participle worsted)

1. (archaic, transitive) To make worse.
2. (dated, intransitive) To grow worse; to deteriorate.
3. (rare) To outdo or defeat, especially in battle.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:worst.

Anagrams

• Trows, rowts, strow, trows, worts

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch worst, from Old Dutch *wurst, *worst, from Proto-West Germanic *wursti.

Cognate with Limburgish wósj, Zealandic woste, Old Saxon worst, Middle Low German worst, Plautdietsch Worscht, Old Frisian *wurst, West Frisian woarst, Old High German wurst, Middle High German wurst, German Wurst, Swabian Wurscht, Sathmar Swabian Wurscht, Bavarian Wuascht, Central Franconian Woosch, Luxembourgish Wuuscht, Hunsrik Worst, East Central German Wurscht, Vilamovian wiyśt, East Franconian Woschd, Rhine Franconian Wurscht, Pennsylvania German Warscht, Palatine German Wurst, Yiddish וווּרשט (vursht).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɔrst/
• Hyphenation: worst
• Rhymes: -ɔrst

Noun

worst f (plural worsten, diminutive worstje n)

1. sausage

Derived terms

-compounds where worst is the first element:

-compounds where worst is the final element:

Descendants

• Afrikaans: wors
  • → English: wors
• Jersey Dutch: wârst
• → Papiamentu: wòrs
• → Russian: ворса (vorsa)
• → Sranan Tongo: worst

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *wurst, *worst, from Proto-West Germanic *wursti.

Noun

worst f

1. sausage

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: worst
  • Afrikaans: wors
    • → English: wors
  • Jersey Dutch: wârst
  • → Papiamentu: wòrs
  • → Russian: ворса (vorsa)
  • → Sranan Tongo: worst
• Limburgish: wósj

Further reading

• “worst”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “worst”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Middle English

Alternative forms

• warst, warste, werist, werst, werste, wirst, worste, wyrst
• werrest, wrst, wurst (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English wierst, contraction of wierrest, from Proto-West Germanic *wirsist, from Proto-Germanic *wirsistaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwurst/, /ˈwɛrst/
• (later Northern) IPA^(key): /ˈwarst/

Adjective

worst (plural and weak singular worste)

1. superlative degree of yvel
2. superlative degree of ille

Descendants

• English: worst (dialectal wust)
• Scots: warst, waurst

References

• “werst(e, adj. superlative.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Adverb

worst

1. superlative degree of yvel (adverb)
2. superlative degree of ille (adverb)

Descendants

• English: worst
• Scots: warst, waurst

References

• “werst(e, adv. superlative.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Noun

worst (uncountable)

1. Something or someone which is the most yvel or ille; the worst.
2. (specifically) The worst-case scenario or eventuality.
3. (figuratively) A rout or loss in battle.

Descendants

• English: worst
• Scots: warst, waurst

References

• “werst(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.