Explore Least through 10+ example sentences from English, with an explanation of the meaning and related words like most or matter. Ideal for language learners, writers and word enthusiasts.
Least meaning
- Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
- Chiefly used with abstract nouns: less than all others in extent or size; littlest, smallest.
Using Least
- The main meaning on this page is: Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little. | Chiefly used with abstract nouns: less than all others in extent or size; littlest, smallest. | Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
- Useful related words include: most, matter, affair, thing.
- In the example corpus, least often appears in combinations such as: at least, least one, least two.
Context around Least
- Average sentence length in these examples: 30.6 words
- Position in the sentence: 12 start, 7 middle, 1 end
- Sentence types: 19 statements, 1 questions, 0 exclamations
Corpus analysis for Least
- In this selection, "least" usually appears near the start of the sentence. The average example has 30.6 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
- Around the word, bigoted, dullest, interesting, 150, six and five stand out and add context to how "least" is used.
- Recognizable usage signals include for at least three years and 398 at least as high. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
- By corpus frequency, "least" sits close to words such as why, saturday and large, which helps place it inside the broader word index.
Example types with least
The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:
A storm system killed at least 25 people in Mississippi and at least one in Alabama. (16 words)
At least 5,894 people have died in Turkey, while at least 2,032 have been killed in Syria. (19 words)
At least 24 UN installations have been hit the past week, killing at least 14 of the agency’s staff. (20 words)
In Singapore, patients can be discharged if they are afebrile for at least 24 hours, if two of their respiratory samples have tested negative by PCR in at least 24 hours and if it has been at least six days since the day of onset of illness. (47 words)
At least 23 were injured as a result of the quake, which was centred in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province and felt in Adiyaman, both provinces hit by the devastating earthquakes in February, which killed at least 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria. (46 words)
Departmental board members had to be at least twenty-three years of age, native born (or a legal citizen for at least three years), and a native of the department (or a resident for at least three years). (38 words)
The only players who’ve had seasons with at least as many three-point attempts (398), at least as high a scoring average and at least as good a three-point percentage? (32 words)
Example sentences (20)
Kelce now has five career games with at least 150 receiving yards, joining Shannon Sharpe as the only TEs in NFL history with at least five games of at least 150 receiving yards.
In Singapore, patients can be discharged if they are afebrile for at least 24 hours, if two of their respiratory samples have tested negative by PCR in at least 24 hours and if it has been at least six days since the day of onset of illness.
The only players who’ve had seasons with at least as many three-point attempts (398), at least as high a scoring average and at least as good a three-point percentage?
Cordray has been courting young voters, calling them the “least bigoted, least prejudiced and least stereotyping generation” that will lead America to a more diverse, tolerant future.
Departmental board members had to be at least twenty-three years of age, native born (or a legal citizen for at least three years), and a native of the department (or a resident for at least three years).
According to Israeli authorities, at least 239 hostages, both Israeli and foreign, were taken captive by Hamas gunmen during the attack, which killed at least 1400 people.
Aim for at least 30 minutes of any type of exercise most days of the week and try to incorporate strength training at least 2 days each week.
A mudslide in the city of Xi’an has left at least 21 people dead, and rescuers are continuing to search for at least six more believed missing.
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age on January 1 2024, be able to speak either French or English, and available for at least ten days during either the Olympics or Paralympics.
As suggested in the scripture, it’s customary to gift two portions of food to at least one person and give gifts of money to at least two people in need.
Assuming these movies are actually happening—I am skeptical—these woke lunatics are going to bring back the dullest, least interesting, least charismatic character imaginable.
A storm system killed at least 25 people in Mississippi and at least one in Alabama.
As we learned during the Arab Spring, such careless optimism can lead us to endorse or at least aid men or movements who turn out to be at least as bad as what they replaced, if not worse.
At least 23 were injured as a result of the quake, which was centred in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province and felt in Adiyaman, both provinces hit by the devastating earthquakes in February, which killed at least 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
At least 24 UN installations have been hit the past week, killing at least 14 of the agency’s staff.
At least 378 have received sentences and at least 55% received prison time meted out so far is 10 years, though none of those convicted of seditious conspiracy has yet been sentenced.
At least 5,894 people have died in Turkey, while at least 2,032 have been killed in Syria.
At least 85 people were injured in Rukum West and 55 in Jajarkot, an official in the prime minister’s office said, while Sharma said at least 50 people were in hospitals in Jajarkot alone.
At least 90% of United States-based holdings must have a market capitalization of at least $75mm, while non-U.
At least seven new ships have entered Ukrainian waters in the past several days, and they are due to ship abroad at least 127,000 tonnes of Ukrainian-origin grain, local Ukrainian officials and lawmakers said.
Common combinations with least
These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts:
- at least 365×
- least one 38×
- least two 30×
- the least 18×
- least people 18×
- least six 17×
- least five 13×
- least of 13×
- least four 12×
- least three 8×