Home US English at least

Definition of at least in English:

at least

See synonyms for at least

Translate at least into Spanish

phrase

  • 1Not less than; at the minimum.

    ‘clean the windows at least once a week’
    • ‘They were blocking every exit, and Whitehall had at least ten vans full of officers.’
    • ‘It would appear that if you know at least one full line from a play, you can probably find it online.’
    • ‘Petunias are easy to grow so long as they are in full sun for at least part of the day.’
    • ‘He knows what he wants and hopefully he will be allowed at least a full season to put matters straight.’
    • ‘It seemed that our lives then had been happy indeed, or at least, full of hope and content.’
    • ‘Truth, or at least the whole truth and nothing but the truth, seems way down the list.’
    • ‘No one could cheat by swallowing anything whole because we had to chew it all at least five times.’
    • ‘This needs at least four minutes' brewing time to reveal its full array of flavours.’
    • ‘I see many blokes my age around, carrying at least as much weight and full of vim and vigour.’
    • ‘On the whole, though, they can at least be expected to grow along with the economy.’
    at the minimum, no less than, not less than
    View synonyms

  • 2If nothing else (used to add a positive comment about a generally negative situation)

    ‘the options aren't complete, but at least they're a start’
    • ‘What this means is that the relationship is not going anywhere, at least not in a positive way.’
    • ‘Not a plan for action, certainly, but at least a creative push in a positive direction.’
    • ‘You might be bored stupid and your boss may be a complete cretin, but at least your office is dry.’
    • ‘The consensus among the Elders is that no one would believe you anyway, or at least not many.’
    • ‘Basically, I was going to be in hell for a whole month or at least until I found a new job.’
    • ‘He is also keen to rescue James from his detractors, or at least to give us the whole picture.’

  • 3Anyway (used to modify something just stated)

    • ‘they seldom complained—officially at least’