Frequency: The word is one of the 700 ~ common words in English.
Note: 'Most' is often considered to be the superlative form of 'much' and 'many'.
1.
You use ~ to refer to the majority of a group of things or people or the largest part of something.
By stopping smoking you are undoing ~ of the damage smoking has caused...
Sadly, ~ of the house was destroyed by fire in 1828.
QUANT: QUANT of def-n
•
Most is also a determiner.
Most people think the Queen has done a good job over the last 50 years...
DET: DET pl-n
•
Most is also a pronoun.
Seventeen civilians were hurt. Most are students who had been attending a twenty-first birthday party...
PRON
2.
You use the ~ to mean a larger amount than anyone or anything else, or the largest amount possible.
The President himself won the ~ votes...
ADJ: the ADJ n
•
Most is also a pronoun.
The ~ they earn in a day is ten roubles.
PRON
3.
You use ~ to indicate that something is true or happens to a greater degree or extent than anything else.
What she feared ~ was becoming like her mother...
...Professor Morris, the person he ~ hated.
? least
ADV: ADV with v
•
You use ~ of all to indicate that something happens or is true to a greater extent than anything else.
She said she wanted ~ of all to be fair.
PHRASE: PHR with v
4.
You use ~ to indicate that someone or something has a greater amount of a particular quality than ~ other things of its kind.
He was one of the ~ influential performers of modern jazz...
If anything, swimming will appeal to her ~ strongly...
? least
ADV: ADV adj/adv
5.
If you do something the ~, you do it to the greatest extent possible or with the greatest frequency.
What question are you asked the ~?...
ADV: the ADV after v
6.
You use ~ in conversations when you want to draw someone’s attention to something very interesting or important that you are about to say.
Most surprisingly, quite a few said they don’t intend to vote at all...
ADV: ADV adv/adj
7.
You use ~ to emphasize an adjective or adverb. (FORMAL)
I’ll be ~ pleased to speak to them...
ADV: ADV adj/adv emphasis
8.
You use at ~ or at the ~ to say that a number or amount is the maximum that is possible and that the actual number or amount may be smaller.
Poach the pears in apple juice for perhaps ten minutes at ~.
...staying on at school for two extra years to study only three, or at the ~ four subjects...
PHRASE: amount PHR, PHR with cl
9.
If you make the ~ of something, you get the maximum use or advantage from it.
Happiness is the ability to make the ~ of what you have...
PHRASE: V inflects
10.
for the ~ part: see part