maximum
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
The greatest value of a set or other mathematical structure.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
maksuhmuhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmæksəməm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The highest limit.
mathematics
The greatest value of a set or other mathematical structure, especially the global maximum or a local maximum of a function.
colloquial
Maximum security
statistics
The largest value of a batch or sample or the upper bound of a probability distribution.
adjective
To the highest degree.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The greatest value of a set or other mathematical structure, especially the global maximum or a local maximum of a function.
Used this way, maximum is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a mathematical use: it is defined precisely and belongs to working with figures and calculations rather than to ordinary conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Mathematics
- Geometry
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use maximum
- “The sign indicates a maximum speed limit of fifty miles per hour.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Greatest / largest
Other combinations
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Thermometer that records the highest and lowest temperatures reached during a period of time.
Similar to oxeye daisy.
Hybrid garden flower derived from Chrysanthemum maximum and Chrysanthemum lacustre having large white flower heads resembling oxeye daisies.
Similar to oxeye daisy.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.