[max.i.mum] n, pl max.i.ma or maximums [L, neut. of maximus] (1740) 1 a: the greatest quantity or value attainable or attained b: the period of highest, greatest, or utmost development
2: an upper limit allowed (as by a legal authority) or allowable (as by the circumstances of a particular case)
3: the largest of a set of numbers; specif: the largest value assumed by a real-valued continuous function defined on a closed interval -- maximum adj