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höchstens

at most

adverb HUEKHS-tens Rare

Also means

at best

Usage Note

höchstens caps an estimate at an upper limit, opposite of mindestens. It can also concede a single exception: Ich trinke nichts, höchstens ein Glas Wasser. Common in negotiations and estimates.

Examples

"Das dauert höchstens fünf Minuten."

Natural Translation

That takes five minutes at most.

Literal Translation

That takes at-most five minutes.

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