tout au plus

\tu.t‿o plys\

/\tu.t‿o plys\/ adv

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Au maximum.

Corpus desk

Index FR-tout-au-plus · tout au plus · French

tout au plus · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" 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 tout au plus
PropertyValue
Headwordtout au plus
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\tu.t‿o plys\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « tout au plus » en français

tout au plusn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

tout au plus is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \tu.t‿o plys\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Au maximum.".

tout au plus has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is tout au plus, spelled T-O-U-T- -A-U- -P-L-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Au maximum.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Alors elle vendit ses immeubles, sauf la ferme de Toucques et la ferme de Geffosses, dont les rentes montaient à 8,000 francs tout au plus, et elle quitta sa maison de Saint-Melaine pour en habiter une autre moins dispendieuse, ayant appartenu à ses ancêtres et placée derrière les halles.
  2. Mais ce territoire d'un demi-million de kilomètres carrés de surface, dont la population est estimée à une dizaine de millions d'habitants, est loin d'avoir la cohésion d'un État européen, et l'autorité effective des sultans ne s'est jamais étendue qu'à un tiers, tout au plus, du Maroc.

Synonyms

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 "tout au plus"?
"tout au plus" is spelled T-O-U-T- -A-U- -P-L-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is \tu.t‿o plys\.
What does "tout au plus" mean?
As an adverb, "tout au plus" means: Au maximum.
How do you pronounce "tout au plus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tout au plus" is \tu.t‿o plys\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tout au plus" come from?
"tout au plus" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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