Max

How to spell max

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce max

What does max mean?

1. nounThe greatest amount, level, or limit possible.
2. verbTo reach or use something to its fullest possible extent, usually with 'out'.

Max in a sentence

• noun

  The budget allows a max of two thousand pounds for travel.

• verb

  Careless spending can max out a credit card within weeks.

• noun

  The lift carries six people at the max.

• verb

  The athletes max out their effort in the final lap.

Where does max come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Max is a casual shortening of maximum, a word English took directly from Latin in the early 1700s. The Latin maximum is the neuter form of maximus, meaning 'greatest' or 'largest', which is the superlative of magnus, 'great' or 'large'. The same magnus root sits behind familiar words such as magnify, magnitude and magnate, all carrying the idea of greatness or size. The clipped form max grew up in informal speech and writing during the twentieth century, helped along by the verb phrase 'to max out' meaning to push something to its absolute limit. Because it is simply the first syllable of maximum with a single ending letter, the spelling holds no real surprises, which keeps it among the easiest words to write from memory.

How the word is built

• max (clipped form of maximum, from Latin maximus: greatest)