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

at the (very) least

idiom
  • 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
  • Johnson should bring back a first-rounder at the very least.
    — Eric Koreen, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
  • Or, at the least, living through some very strange and scary times.
    — Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
  • Whatever the task in front of him, at the very least, Redick would fight for it.
    — Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Or at the very least, not let good bagels get in the way of good policy?
    — Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 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
  • Barkley should at the very least be considered to break that streak.
    — Brooks Kubena, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 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
  • The programming gambit should, at the very least, draw younger crowds to NFL play.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 22 Nov. 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
  • Or, at the very least, did an excellent job of hiding it.
    — Shania Russell, EW.com, 24 Feb. 2025
  • That’s what a medical pedicure achieves—at the very least.
    — Zoe Ruffner, Vogue, 22 Nov. 2024
  • That path, at the very least, would require the regime to abandon enrichment.
    — Afshon Ostovar, Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2025
  • 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
  • Parental controls like Bark can be used to block the app completely, or at the very least, limit the amount of time a child is on it.
    — Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Or, at the least, reassurance that there is still something left in your relationship.
    — Eric Thomas, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 June 2025
  • That's not to say that there aren't sticklers for the old way of doing things: leaving your phone at home or in the car, tucking it in your purse or pocket, turning it off, and at the very least, putting it on silent or vibrate mode.
    — Frank Witsil, Freep.com, 3 July 2025

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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