How to Use at the (very) least in a Sentence

at the (very) least

idiom
Definition of at the (very) leastnext
  • Still, America’s wait-and-see posture could, at the very least, begin to thaw.
    — Bryan Mena, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024
  • The study’s leaders also point out that some of our fears are unfounded—or, at the very least, not aligned with reality.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Oct. 2024
  • They will be sequestered and meet every day until a worthy soul (or at the very least, the most politically savvy one) receives at least 72 votes.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2024
  • The Verizon breach likely gave the hackers access to—at the very least—metadata about who the candidates were speaking with and when.
    — Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 25 Oct. 2024
  • These two are not the only lawmakers to signal approval toward raising taxes on billionaires, or at the very least abstaining from offering them further cuts.
    — Nina Turner, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
  • Locke, now 20, achieved, at the very least, part of that dream.
    — Nick Romano, EW.com, 3 Sep. 2024
  • Or at the very least, not broadcast to the whole world.
    — Byron Tau, WIRED, 27 Feb. 2024
  • Or, at the very least, to get their side of the story told.
    — Morty Matz, New York Daily News, 21 July 2024
  • The show needs more jokes and less earnest emoting, at the very least.
    — TIME, 9 Oct. 2023
  • And at the very least, there are no knobs or dials to break.
    — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 15 Jan. 2021
  • Or at the very least the hottest version of themselves.
    — L'oréal Blackett, refinery29.com, 24 July 2024
  • But at the very least, the market appears to have found a floor.
    — Grant Smith, Fortune, 16 July 2023
  • So the court will see to it that elections are held next year at the very least.
    — Abc News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2024
  • Or, at the least, living through some very strange and scary times.
    — Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
  • Or at the very least, put your feet up and relax for a bit to give your body a break.
    — Lauryn Higgins, Parents, 10 Oct. 2024
  • Drake, for at the very least since the turn of the decade, is far more a popstar than anything else.
    — Camellia Burris, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2024
  • Others appear to be at the very least safe, and may be worth a shot.
    — Markham Heid, TIME, 9 Feb. 2024
  • Still others gripe that the Army should never have closed the post or, at the very least, should’ve held onto the land.
    — Sam McManis, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Or, at the very least, they were forced to face down heat exhaustion while the men on set had a bit more help.
    — Stacey Leasca, Glamour, 30 Aug. 2020
  • To do so was to risk almost certain death or, at the least, scorn from our neighbors.
    — David Holloway, al, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Does the network even have a release date, or, at the very least, a production start date?
    — Zoe Guy, Vulture, 11 June 2024
  • Nix, at the very least, hasn’t thrown an interception in his last two games.
    — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Read on to learn more about overbooking and how to avoid it (or, at the very least, benefit from it).
    — Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 2 Dec. 2023
  • But, at the very least, the newcomer shows support vessels can bring their own dose of style to the water.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2023
  • Or, at the very least, inspire you to replace some of your coffee intake with a nice, herbal tea.
    — Christina Pérez, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2023
  • Can the drone shot be benevolent, or, at the very least, objective?
    — Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2023
  • But at the least the economy’s resilience suggests that the Fed won’t be cutting rates soon.
    — WSJ, 6 Sep. 2023
  • But a leaf blower can make the task somewhat fun—or, at the very least, much quicker than using a rake.
    — Brandon Russell, Popular Mechanics, 11 Aug. 2023
  • The rapper, whose debut LP Montero dropped in 2021, confirmed that there is, at the very least, a single on the way.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 29 Dec. 2023
  • And at the very least, tell those notifications to shut it.
    — Cathryne Keller, SELF, 13 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'at the (very) least.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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