au mieux

\o mjø\

/\o mjø\/ adv

The verdict

“au mieux” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Du mieux qu'on le puisse, du mieux qu'il soit possible.

Corpus desk

Index FR-au-mieux · au mieux · French

au mieux · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for au mieux
PropertyValue
Headwordau mieux
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\o mjø\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « au mieux » en français

au mieuxreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

au mieux is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \o mjø\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for au mieux, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is au mieux, spelled A-U- -M-I-E-U-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    Du mieux qu'on le puisse, du mieux qu'il soit possible.
  2. 2
    Dans le meilleur des cas ; pour le mieux.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how au mieux appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Faire quelque chose au mieux.
  2. Elles deux ne pouvaient passer pour des aristocrates ; au mieux pouvait-on les prendre pour des hoberelles d'une lointaine province.

Synonyms

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "au mieux"?
"au mieux" is spelled A-U- -M-I-E-U-X. The IPA pronunciation is \o mjø\.
What does "au mieux" mean?
As an adverb, "au mieux" means: Du mieux qu'on le puisse, du mieux qu'il soit possible.
How do you pronounce "au mieux"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "au mieux" is \o mjø\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "au mieux" come from?
"au mieux" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list