worst-case scenario meaning: definition, quotations

worst-case scenario

noun

Any situation or conclusion which could not be any worse; the worst possible outcome.

Everyone is rightly planning for the worst-case scenario. Across Europe, that worst-case scenario is already playing out.2020 March 25, “Network News: What COVID-19 means for rail in a wider transport context”, in Rail, page 10:
Here’s the worst case scenario: You’ve just wasted your time on a few meaningless Tinder messages and not an actual date—or heaven forbid, a full-blown relationship.2023 March 6, Alexis Jones, Megan Schaltegger, “These Tinder Conversation Starters Actually Work, According To Dating Experts”, in Women's Health:

adv

Informal At worst, worst comes to worst, in the worst-case scenario.