utmost

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 20, 2025 is:

utmost • \UT-mohst\  • adjective

Utmost describes something that is the greatest or highest in degree, number, or amount.

// The safety of employees is of utmost importance.

// Olympians push themselves to the utmost limit when training.

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Examples:

“Only about 2,000 of the hybrid tea rose bushes, dubbed Barbra’s Baby, are available so far. … Streisand politely declined to comment for this story, but Dan Bifano, a master rosarian and longtime gardener to Streisand, Oprah and other famous folk, believes a rose’s name ‘is always of utmost importance; it makes the rose salable or unsalable, and anytime a rose is connected to a celebrity, it’s going to pick up the sales.’” — Jeanette Marantos, The Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2025

Did you know?

Utmost, which typically communicates that something is of the greatest or highest in degree, number, or amount, is commonly found modifying words like importance, concern, and respect. But utmost can also indicate that something is, literally or figuratively, farthest or most distant—that it is outmost, as in “the utmost point.” Utmost in fact traces back to the Old English word ūtmest, a superlative adjective formed from the adverb ūt, meaning “out.” Utmost can also function as a noun referring to the highest attainable point or degree, as in “the inn provides the utmost in comfort and luxury.” The noun also often occurs in phrases such as “we did our utmost to help” where it means “the highest, greatest, or best of one’s abilities, powers, and resources.”