Etymology From Middle English worste, wurste, warste, werste, wirste, from Old English wierrest, from Proto-Germanic *wirsistaz, superlative form of *ubilaz (“bad, evil”); compare worse. Cognate with Old Saxon wirsista, wirrista (“worst”), Old High German wirst, wirsesto, wirsisto (“worst”), Danish værst (“worst”), Swedish värst (“worst”), Icelandic verstur (“worst”).
› superlative form of bad: most bad
1
For non-slang definitions Most inferior; doing the least good.
I think putting oil on a burn is the worst thing you can do.
2
For non-slang definitions Most unfavorable.
That's the worst news I've had all day.
3
For non-slang definitions Most harmful or severe.
The worst storm we had last winter knocked down our power lines.
4
For non-slang definitions Used with the definite article and an implied noun: something that is worst.
None of these photographs of me are good, but this one is definitely the worst.
Etymology From Middle English worste, wurste, warste, werste, wirste, from Old English wierrest, from Proto-Germanic *wirsistaz, superlative form of *ubilaz (“bad, evil”); compare worse. Cognate with Old Saxon wirsista, wirrista (“worst”), Old High German wirst, wirsesto, wirsisto (“worst”), Danish værst (“worst”), Swedish värst (“worst”), Icelandic verstur (“worst”).
1
Something or someone that is the worst.
The humorist helps people to explore and confront their worsts1991, Don C. Dinkmeyer, Jr., The Encouragement Book: Becoming a Positive Person, page 201:
Etymology From Middle English worste, wurste, warste, werste, wirste, from Old English wierrest, from Proto-Germanic *wirsistaz, superlative form of *ubilaz (“bad, evil”); compare worse. Cognate with Old Saxon wirsista, wirrista (“worst”), Old High German wirst, wirsesto, wirsisto (“worst”), Danish værst (“worst”), Swedish värst (“worst”), Icelandic verstur (“worst”).
Anne haggard, Mary coarse, every face in the neighbourhood worsting.1817 (date written), [Jane Austen], Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=III or IV), London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC:
The […] Philistines were worsted by the captivated ark.1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
Her joy and pride in the honour paid to her darling son Adam was beginning to be worsted in the conflict with the jealousy and fretfulness which had revived when Adam came to tell her that Captain Donnithorne desired him to join the dancers in the hall.1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “The Dance”, in Adam Bede […], volume II, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book third, pages 205–206:
2 more examples
Jo carried her love of liberty and hate of conventionalities to such an unlimited extent that she naturally found herself worsted in an argument.1868–1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, Little Women: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC:
The higher classes see the unions, the strikes, the May Day Celebrations, and feel the calamity that is threatening them, and their terror passes into an instinct of self-defense and hatred. They know that if for one instant they are worsted in the struggle with their oppressed slaves, they will perish, because the slaves are exasperated and their exasperation is growing more intense with every day of oppression.1894, Leo Tolstoï [i.e., Leo Tolstoy], “Contradiction between Our Life and our Christian Conscience”, in Constance Garnett, transl., The Kingdom of God is within You: or, Christianity Not as a Mystical Doctrine, but as a New Life-conception. […], London: Walter Scott, […], →OCLC, page 120: