at worst
"at-worst" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“at worst” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - If the worst possible alternative happens (especially in an otherwise positive situation).
Corpus desk
Index EN-at-worst · at worst · English
at worst · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | at worst |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “at worst” in English
Rare enough to double-check
at worst is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "If the worst possible alternative happens (especially in an otherwise positive situation).".
Zero misspellings are on record for at worst in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is at worst, spelled A-T- -W-O-R-S-T.
Definition
- 1If the worst possible alternative happens (especially in an otherwise positive situation).
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how at worst appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It looks like rain, but let's go out anyway. At worst, we'll only get wet.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.