ENGLISH
REFERENCE

most

adj.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈmoʊs// UK //mˈəʊst// most Archaic General-service Informal Slang

adj. the largest number or amount of something. You use it to talk about nearly all of a group.

adj. the greatest in amount, quantity, or degree. Functions as a superlative determiner or pronoun to indicate the majority of a set.


SIMPLE

Most people like to eat pizza.

CONTEXTUAL

Most students in the class passed the final exam with high marks.

COMPLEX

While some critics found the ending controversial, most viewers appreciated the emotional closure provided by the final scene.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Middle English English most From Middle English most, moste, from Old English mǣst, māst, from Proto-Germanic maistaz, maist. Cognate with Scots mast, maist (“most”), Saterland Frisian maast (“most”), West Frisian meast (“most”), Dutch meest (“most”), German meist (“most”), Danish and Swedish mest (“most”), Icelandic mestur (“most”).

Etymology 2

Reduction of almost.

Usage

When followed by a noun with another determiner like 'the' or 'my', it requires 'of' ('most of the people').

Pitfall

The most of people like music.Most people like music.Do not use 'the' or 'of' when 'most' is followed directly by a general plural noun.

© 2026 English Reference