the worst
the worst — idiom
1. the single person or thing that is lower in quality, or more unpleasant, than ev
the single person or thing that is lower in quality, or more unpleasant, than every other one being compared.
Of all the hotels Zuri tried, that one by the station was by far the worst.
by far the worst (emphasising the extreme)
Hana tasted every soup at the fair and said the cold pumpkin one was the worst.
the worst as a noun after a comparison
This is the worst that could happen, so let us plan how to cope with it.
Among the three offers on the table, the lowest one is clearly the worst.
Karim fears the worst whenever the phone rings late at night.
- the poorest
stresses low quality rather than how unpleasant something feels
- the most awful
informal and stronger; stresses a bad emotional reaction
- the best
the single highest-ranked or most pleasant one in the same comparison
文法句型
the worst (that ...)
the worst of + plural noun
by far the worst
用法筆記
Always takes 'the' and stands alone as a noun, so no following noun is needed: say 'this is the worst', not 'the worst thing' unless you add a noun on purpose. Distinguish from sense 3, which names the lowest part of one single thing rather than the lowest-ranked item in a group.
常見錯誤
2. a set of items, or a number of people, that together rank below every other set
a set of items, or a number of people, that together rank below every other set being compared.
These leaking pipes are the worst of the materials the builders delivered last week.
the worst of + plural noun (whole group)
Among the city's old buses, the rusty green ones are the worst by a clear margin.
the worst standing for a plural set
Constanza sorted the apples and threw out the worst, keeping the firm red ones.
The judges agreed that the early entries were the worst of the whole contest.
Trang reviews cheap laptops and warns shoppers away from the worst on the market.
- the lowest-ranked
neutral; common in reports and rankings rather than everyday speech
- the dregs
informal and negative; suggests what is left after the good ones are taken
- the best
the group that ranks above all the others being compared
文法句型
the worst of + plural noun
the worst + plural verb
among the worst
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: here 'the worst' stands for a whole set of items or people, so it usually takes a plural verb ('the worst are ...') and pairs with an 'of' phrase naming the larger group. Use sense 1 when you mean one single item.
常見錯誤
3. the part of one situation or event that is the most difficult, painful, or hard
the part of one situation or event that is the most difficult, painful, or hard to get through.
Once the fever broke, Gabriel knew the worst of his illness was finally over.
the worst of + singular noun (hardest part)
The first steep mile was the worst of the whole mountain climb.
the worst of + singular noun (toughest stretch)
Brooke held her breath as the dentist's drill reached the worst of the work.
After the storm passed, the villagers felt the worst was behind them.
Ravindra stayed calm through the worst of the long, bumpy flight home.
- the toughest part
informal; stresses difficulty rather than pain
- the low point
stresses the moment when a situation felt most hopeless
- the best part
the most enjoyable or easiest stretch of the same thing
文法句型
the worst of + singular noun
the worst is over / behind us
get the worst of
用法筆記
Object must be one single situation or event (an illness, a journey, a storm), not a set of competing items; that is what sets this sense apart from sense 2. Very common in the fixed pattern 'the worst is over' to say the hardest part has finished.