maximum

maximum — adjective

1. describing an amount, level, or number that is as big as the rules, the situatio

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describing an amount, level, or number that is as big as the rules, the situation, or the physical space allows — nothing can be bigger than this.

Example

The maximum speed on this road is forty miles per hour.

maximum + noun: the highest possible speed/temperature/weight

Saira lifted the maximum weight allowed for her age group at the competition.

Common collocations
  • maximum speed
  • maximum temperature
  • maximum weight
  • maximum capacity
  • maximum height
  • maximum limit
Synonyms
  • greatest

    more general than 'maximum'; 'greatest' can describe size, importance, or intensity while 'maximum' specifically refers to an upper limit

  • highest

    used for concrete measurements like temperature, speed, or rank; 'highest temperature' and 'maximum temperature' are interchangeable

  • utmost

    more formal and intense than 'maximum'; suggests the absolute extreme possible ('utmost care' vs 'maximum care')

  • top

    informal alternative; 'top speed' is common in everyday speech but less formal than 'maximum speed'

Antonyms
  • minimum

    the smallest amount or number possible or allowed

Grammar Patterns

maximum + noun (the thing that has an upper limit)

Usage Note

Always placed directly before the noun it describes. Do not use after a number — for that meaning, use the adverb sense instead.

Common Mistakes

This car can go 200 km/h maximum speed.
The maximum speed of this car is 200 km/h.
as an adjective, 'maximum' goes before the noun, not after a number.

maximum — adverb

maximum — noun

Word family

  • maximize
    verbB2
  • maximal
    adjectiveC1
  • maximumly
    adverb
  • max
    noun / adjective / verbB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to a point beyond which something cannot go, but they differ in formality and context. 'Maximum' is the most general term for the highest possible or allowed number, amount, or degree — it appears in everyday situations ('a maximum of ten people') as well as technical ones. 'Limit' is broader because it can be either an upper or lower boundary ('speed limit' vs 'age limit'), and it often carries the idea of a rule or natural stopping point. 'Ceiling' is more formal and is used mainly for official or regulatory upper limits, particularly in finance and policy ('a ceiling on rent increases', 'debt ceiling'). 'Cap' is the most informal of the four, common in business and news contexts for a fixed imposed limit ('a cap on tuition fees'). In everyday speech, 'maximum' and 'cap' are often interchangeable, but 'cap' suggests someone deliberately set the limit, while 'maximum' can simply describe a natural upper boundary. For example: 'The temperature reached its maximum for the day' sounds natural, but 'The temperature reached its cap for the day' would sound odd because a cap is something imposed, not naturally occurring.

limit ↗ceiling ↗cap ↗upper bound

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • at maximum
  • to the maximum
  • up to the maximum

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The word 'maximum' comes directly from Latin, where it is the neuter form of 'maximus', meaning 'greatest' or 'largest'. 'Maximus' is the superlative of 'magnus' (large, great). English borrowed 'maximum' in the 1600s as a noun meaning 'the greatest possible quantity', and it later developed the adjective and adverb uses. The opposite, 'minimum', follows the same Latin pattern from 'minimus' (smallest).