■ adjective of the poorest quality or the lowest standard.
↘most severe or serious.
■ adverb
1》 most severely or seriously.
2》 least well.
■ noun the ~ event or circumstance.
↘the ~ part or stage of something.
■ verb get the better of.
Phrases
at its (or someone's ) ~ in the ~ state possible.
at ~ (or the ~ ) in the ~ possible case.
do one's ~ do as much damage as one can (often expressing defiance).
get (or have ) the ~ of it suffer the most.
if the ~ comes to the ~ if the most serious or difficult circumstances arise.
Origin
OE wierresta , wyrresta (adjective), wierst , wyrst (adverb), of Gmc origin; related to worse .