minimum1 adjectiveminimum2 noun
minimummin‧i‧mum1 /ˈmɪnəməm/ ●●● S3 W2 AWL adjective [only before noun] 
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- The minimum age to buy cigarettes is 18.
- The minimum order is five hundred business cards.
- What is the minimum wage these days?
- But it is not merely the minimum content of natural law which supports such a view.
- He will call for a higher minimum wage.
- It will lay down minimum terms for a new manufacturer's guarantees.
- Overall both Namurian and Visean gradients are comparable with that for the Westphalian minimum uplift composite trend.
- So one perennial idea getting a second wind is the campaign to raise the pitifully low current minimum wage.
- The governor is proposing the minimum increase for schools required by Proposition 98.
- The local shop paid Mino the legal minimum wage, but worked him twice the legal number of hours.
- This is the minimum daily amount of a nutrient required by an adult to prevent symptoms of deficiency.
Longman Language Activatorthe smallest amount that is allowed or possible
the smallest amount or number of something: the least (that): · £20,000 is the least we could accept for a car of this type.· The least anyone around here works is about 50 hours per week.
the minimum number or amount is the smallest number or amount that is possible or allowed: · What is the minimum wage these days?· The minimum age to buy cigarettes is 18.
the least amount of something that is allowed within a range: · Age 3 is really the lower limit for teaching children to swim.lower limit of: · Deposits are subject to a lower limit of $400.
a number or level at which something begins to happen or to have an effect, especially the lowest number or level: · If the temperature falls below a particular threshold, a warning light comes on.· Under the proposal, those whose earnings were less than a $36,000 threshold would not have to pay taxes.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
The room had the bare minimum (=the smallest amount possible) of furniture. The Steamatic enables you to clean any carpet with the minimum of fuss. Costs must be kept to a minimum.
· 16 years is the minimum age to drive a car.
The room had the bare minimum (=the smallest amount possible) of furniture. (=an amount that is the least you can pay)· There’s a minimum charge of £10 per person in the Terrace restaurant.
The Steamatic enables you to clean any carpet with the minimum of fuss. Costs must be kept to a minimum.· This species of fish can reach a maximum length of 12 inches.
· That certificate is a minimum requirement for entry to music college.
· The maximum term was life imprisonment.
(=the lowest amount of money that an employer can legally pay to a worker)· a rise in the minimum wage
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· Loan secured by endowment mortgage, minimum age 20 years.· The draft treaty is also vague on the question of a new minimum age for voluntary recruits.· The course is open to people of all nationalities and religious affiliations, and the minimum age is 15 years.· The nationwide minimum age of 18 to buy cigarettes and chewing tobacco remains in force.· Another 21 of the 38 death-penalty states either have a minimum age of 16 or no minimum.· The execution of juvenile offenders is extremely rare and at least 72 countries set 18 as the minimum age for the death penalty.· The Education Act of 1870 set out to provide elementary schools for children up to a minimum age of ten throughout the country.
· They want as many rabbits as possible for the minimum amount of effort and time commitment.· But there was enough esprit de corps among our group to overcome this discomfort with a minimum amount of grumbling.· The interpretation of the data is simple and requires a minimum amount of calculation.· Usually whether a facility or activity is regulated is defined by whether it deals with more than minimum amounts of specified substances.· Individual claims will be restricted by a minimum amount.· But they had another requirement: to make sure that this was done safely with the minimum amount of steel.· Residents pay for their care according to their means and all will have at least a minimum amount of money for personal use.· Sprinkle the minimum amount of salt needed to lower the freezing point of water from slippery ice to safer mushy slush.
· All or part of the investment can be withdrawn without notice or penalty, provided the minimum balance stays at £10,000.· This minimum balance that the firm is required to maintain is referred to as a compensating balance.· The minimum balance is US$1,000 or the equivalent in the major currencies and US$3,000 otherwise.· The minimum balance is the equivalent of US$10,000 in major currencies and US$15,000 otherwise.· There is no restriction on the amount you can withdraw as long as you maintain the minimum balance of £10,000 in your account.
· Some districts are relying on minimum cost rather than good value.· Elected representatives have poor information on the minimum costs needed to supply a public service.· I am also interested in motoring at minimum cost!· We should also address issues such as our abort fees or minimum costs or indeed a retainer.· Many potential purchasers can be easily identified with minimum cost using research.· The principle is simple: the way to survive and prosper is to gain maximum production at minimum cost.· According to the government, it's a figure which isn't expected to bear any relation to the minimum cost of living.· Thus the minimum cost of a reasonably diversified portfolio would be 30,000-40,000.
· Both account providers require a minimum deposit of £ 5,000, and both pay higher rates on larger balances.· Most Partnership Accounts have a minimum deposit of £100.· Those with a minimum deposit of £500 receive 7 per cent.· The authorities could restrict hire purchase credit by specifying minimum deposits or maximum repayment periods.· Lambeth's Cat's Whiskers account pays 6.90 per cent on a minimum deposit of £100.· The society will pay 7.3 per cent on a minimum deposit of £1,000, although savers must give 30 days' notice.· The minimum deposit we ask for is £10,000.
· These reforms will ensure that every citizen is guaranteed a decent minimum income, whether or not they are in employment.· Work itself may be a pleasure and the monetary reward may be of limited importance after a minimum income is gained.· A price-indexed minimum income was assured to protect the unemployed.
· The minimum investment is £100, with a maximum of £20,000.· Janus also raised its minimum investment for individual retirement accounts to $ 500 from $ 250.· There is no minimum investment and switching is available at no dealing cost.· The minimum investment in these accounts is often as low as £2,500-sometimes even less.· Taylor-Young Investment Management accepts minimum investments of £50,000 for its unit and investment trust service and £100,000 for a wider portfolio.· The minimum investment is set at £500 with an initial charge of 5 percent plus an annual fee of 1 percent.· Both require a minimum investment of £1, give instant access and include gifts.· The minimum investment is £2,500 and you may deposit up to £25,000.
· Restrictions on rights of audience ensure that persons appearing as representatives before courts have a minimum level of competence as advocates.· Schools are guaranteed a minimum level of funding spelled out by Proposition 98, approved by voters in 1988.· Above the minimum level, the risk increases with intake.· Third, as a policy matter, normal prudence suggests that some minimum level of cash on hand should be maintained.· These call for a minimum level of earnings at strategic intervals throughout the relationship.· In addition to this financing need, the desired minimum level of $ 2, 000 must also be considered.· The minimum levels for Key Stages 1 to 4 were to be, respectively, levels 1,2,3 and 4.· A minimum level is set and those at or above that level are then selected by non-academic criteria.
· A suggested minimum number of cycles is six.· But we only had a minimum number of players.· Only the minimum number of officers necessary will visit homes and parents will always be told what they are doing and why.· You also can indicate the minimum number of bedrooms, and can state minimum and maximum prices.· No minimum number of books to buy. 3.· The issue becomes one of the minimum number of neurons needed before compensation fails.· Subsequently excavations have revealed a minimum number of three kilns in an area 40 metres to the west.· For both types the minimum number of students enrolled qualifying for grant-aid was fixed at nine.
· The minimum period for service varies in relation to different applications.· It was Lord Woolf who reduced the minimum period they must serve.· The minimum period of disqualification is two years and the maximum period is 15 years.· There is no maximum or minimum period.· Certain smaller building societies have minimum periods for notice or a penal charge of interest for a shorter period.· In most cases, this initial period will count towards the minimum period of study for the degree.· After a minimum period of five days stability they were eligible for randomisation and inclusion into the trial.· The minimum period of study is normally 12 months full-time.
· All the major players now offer a range of minimum price contracts, which will use options and futures indirectly.· Farm price supports become low maximum rather than high minimum prices.· But it will deal a blow to the agreement, which allows publishers to set a minimum price for most books.· Current federal farm programs often guarantee growers a minimum price even if the market price drops lower.· This is similar to a put option that guarantees investors a minimum price at which they can sell their shares.· A published reserve is the minimum price the owners will accept, Rosenthal said.· See Chapter 12 for a discussion of the effects of minimum price fluctuations.· It was therefore in their interest to get a minimum price fixed for the cloth.
· The minimum rate for workers aged 21 and under will rise by20p to £ 3.20 in June.· Work out the minimum rate of descent for this outbound leg.· The speculative demand becomes virtually infinite at this minimum rate of interest.· If the inbound time is 3 minutes, then the minimum Rate of Descent will be 700 ft/min.· No minimum rate of descent planned.· The agreed rates are only minimum rates.· Under any new system, the Government has made plain that it will lay down the minimum rates of benefit.· Have all times and minimum rates of descent worked out on a still-air basis first of all.
· However, the following proposals are tentatively put forward as minimum requirements for most kinds of library. 1.· Check to make sure you meet the minimum requirements for using a cable modem.· As far as minimum requirements go, you will need to take at least one blank video cassette with you.· In terms of study leave, some organisations were not convinced that the Institute's minimum requirement of 20 weeks was necessary.· This conflicts both with a brute biological concern for children, and with the minimum requirements of civilized morality.· He pointed out that large groups such as Hilton and Holiday Inns were already investing in fire protection beyond the minimum requirements.· In Chapter 2 I gave a breakdown of the five minimum requirements of the graph search mechanism.
· What should be the minimum size of order acceptable for credit?· There is no need for a minimum size.· A minimum size of holding was necessary for this, varying with circumstances.· It will have a minimum size of £27.5m and a maximum of £67.5m, depending on the level of take-up.· Then they pass zoning laws specifying a minimum size for a house and its garden.· What is the minimum size of portfolio brokers require?
· The Acts lay down a minimum standard for air quality, and impose pollution emission controls to particular polluters.· Collective bargaining is a flexible instrument and can build upon the minimum standards which the law lays down.· The directive is based on minimum standards - but I am caught out by the time, Madam Deputy Speaker.· Chief technical officer Billy Dodds said the minimum standards were adequate and cover would be increased in line with the number of bathers.· Ford has continued to raise the minimum standard for the award - and by 1991 will use only suppliers that meet it.· Certain services, such as education, have minimum standards imposed by Parliament.· We will require local authorities to define minimum standards of accessibility in their areas and draw up transport plans which meet them.· Supervision of offices Rule 13 of the Solicitors' Practice Rules 1991 sets out the minimum standards required.
· There is a need to introduce a statutory minimum wage.· Unions have asked that the minimum wage of 145 pesos a day be raised as much as 35 pesos.· Mr. Bowis A minimum wage involves the Government dictating to private employers what they should pay their workers.· And the Democrats in Congress have bedeviled Dole with a push for a raise in the minimum wage.· However in 1912, after a series of strikes, a rather reluctant government granted the miners a statutory minimum wage.· The White House sidestepped questions about linking the gas tax repeal with the minimum wage.· She saw low pay as the root of the problem and from 1896 began to campaign for the legal minimum wage.· The average weaver today makes less than minimum wage, with beginners earning as little as $ 1 an hour.
WORD FAMILYnounminimumminimalismminimalistadjectiveminimalminimumminimalistadverbminimallyminimumverbminimize
the minimum number, degree, or amount of something is the smallest or least that is possible, allowed, or needed OPP maximum: The minimum number of students we need to run the course is fifteen. The minimum age for retirement is 55.—minimum adverb: You’ll need two tons of cement, minimum.minimum1 adjectiveminimum2 noun
minimumminimum2 ●●● S3 W2 AWL noun [singular] WORD ORIGINminimum2
Origin:
1600-1700 Latin minimus ‘smallest’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- He usually just pays the minimum each month on his credit cards.
- Let's try to keep irrelevant comments to a minimum.
- The hospital has reduced staffing to an absolute minimum.
- You have to stay for a minimum of 7 days.
- A minimum of £60,000 would be needed to cover fees for two children attending public school from age nine to 18.
- A player must serve a minimum of 12 consecutive months before becoming a full member.
- Employees do a minimum of hand-machining work and instead spend most of their time assembling pre-cut pieces.
- For Lloyd's sales however, the minimum is £150,000.
- Maximum of 10 students per group and minimum of 4.
- These structures need to be erected and dismantled quickly with a minimum of disturbance whilst encountering many difficult locations.
- This time the concept was approved and details worked out with a minimum of controversy.
THESAURUS
the highest number, speed, temperature etc that is allowed by a law or rule: · He borrowed money up to the limit that the bank allowed.· The speed limit is 65 m.p.h.· There’s no limit on the amount of money that may be brought into the US.· Pollution levels are over the official limit.· Some families set limits on how much they spend on each other’s Christmas present.
rules or laws that strictly control what you are allowed to do: · Travel restrictions might reduce the spread of the disease.· Unions are pressing for restrictions on steel imports from Japan.· Because of restrictions on reporting, newspapers were not allowed to cover the story.· New restrictions have been imposed on immigration.
limits on what a person or thing is able to do – used especially when you would like to be able to do more: · The president was unwilling to accept limitations on his power.· the limitations of the computer system· Hikers should know their physical limitations and not take unnecessary risks.
facts or conditions that limit what you can do, for example not having enough time, money etc: · Financial constraints are forcing many people in their twenties to live with their parents.· The last part of the show had to be cut because of time constraints.· The constraints of prison life are sometimes too much for people to bear.
the largest number or amount that is possible, normal, or allowed: · Classes have a maximum of twenty students.· What’s the maximum you can earn before you have to pay tax?
the smallest number or amount that is possible or allowed: · He was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison.· Our aim is to reduce the number of accidents to an absolute minimum.
the largest number or amount of something that is officially allowed: · There is a ceiling on the amount of foreign investment.· Import quotas may rise from the present ceiling of 18.5 million to 20 million.· Congress was once again considering raising the federal debt ceiling.
Longman Language Activatorthe smallest amount or number of something the smallest amount of something: the least: · We decided to buy the one that cost the least.· Those who have been in the most danger have the least to say about it.· Of all the EU countries, Britain spends the least on higher education.· The least I would expect would be an apology (=I'd like more than just an apology).the least water/money/time etc: · After trials, we chose the engine that used the least fuel.· I was the youngest, so I always got the least pocket money.· We've selected recipes that take the least time to prepare.· Find a route that is likely to have the least traffic.· We thought this decision would produce the least harm and disruption to residents.
the smallest possible number or amount of something or the smallest number or amount that is allowed: · The minimum salary for this post is $25,000.· We need a minimum number of two staff members on duty at lunchtime.· Frank was moved to a minimum-security prison for good behaviour.minimum height/length/age/wage etc: · These workers are being paid less than the minimum wage.· The minimum age at which you can legally buy tobacco is 18. · The Police Department has reduced the minimum height requirement to encourage more women to join the force.reduce/keep something to a minimum (=make the amount or number of something as small as possible): · Interruptions should be kept to a minimum.· The library book stock has already been reduced to a minimum.· We want to keep the number of mistakes to a minimum.minimum of: · This will enable the patient to move with a minimum of discomfort.· The course takes a minimum of three years.· Even for local games, you have to pay a minimum of $45 per game.the minimum: · Five people in a group should be the minimum.bare minimum (=use this to emphasize how small the amount is): · A tiny crack in the tent allowed the bare minimum of light in.
the smallest number of something: · We plan to do the repairs in winter, when we have the fewest visitors.· Single men make the fewest complaints about women bosses.· Towns with the fewest amenities are usually the ones with the highest crime rates.· Young drivers under 25 have the highest number of accidents while those over 50 have the fewest.· In 1998, there were 71 homicides, the fewest since the 1950s.
use this about numbers, prices, wages, temperatures, or levels: · In the last election, he was the candidate who got the lowest number of votes.· People who drank the least coffee had the lowest level of blood pressure.· The lowest charge for a rented car is $30 a day.· Does the company offering the lowest price really offer the best value?the lowest for 6 months/in 15 years/since 2000 etc: · Interest rates are only 4%, the lowest for 25 years.· The infant mortality rate in Vietnam is now the lowest since 1997. · Overseas demand for corn is the lowest in 20 years.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYverbs The room had the bare minimum (=the smallest amount possible) of furniture. The Steamatic enables you to clean any carpet with the minimum of fuss. Costs must be kept to a minimum.
· Candidates should have a minimum of five years’ work experience.
(=to keep something at a low level)· Keep the noise to a minimum, will you?
(=make something less, so it is at a low level)· We want to reduce the environmental impact to a minimum.
(also require a minimum of something formal)· We’ll need a minimum of two days to get this ready.
adjectives (=the very least amount)· He paid in five pounds, the bare minimum needed to keep the bank account open.
(=the least amount the law says you must have)· The wage was often well below the legal minimum.
(=the least amount that you must have)· He received 35 votes, two more than the required minimum.
phrases (=with very little anxious behaviour or activity)· They checked our passports with the minimum of fuss.
(=with very little effort)· The house could be restored with a minimum of effort.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· 16 years is the minimum age to drive a car.
The room had the bare minimum (=the smallest amount possible) of furniture. (=an amount that is the least you can pay)· There’s a minimum charge of £10 per person in the Terrace restaurant.
The Steamatic enables you to clean any carpet with the minimum of fuss. Costs must be kept to a minimum.· This species of fish can reach a maximum length of 12 inches.
· That certificate is a minimum requirement for entry to music college.
· The maximum term was life imprisonment.
(=the lowest amount of money that an employer can legally pay to a worker)· a rise in the minimum wage
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· As an absolute minimum they will hold the member liable for any failure to supervise.· Which is not to say that you should not try to reduce your taxes to the absolute legal minimum.· However, the objective must be to reduce the intake of all pesticides to the absolute minimum.· In principle, platform numbers should be kept to an absolute minimum.· Everyone, whether on a slimming diet or not, should reduce this kind of sugar to an absolute minimum.· Weighing ten kilograms a pair, I have to make sure the rest of my belongings are kept to an absolute minimum.· Make do with the absolute minimum.· Expatriate vehicles are kept to an absolute minimum, and site offices are merely caravans.
· The bare minimum required to keep the account open.· Leaders like that get only the bare minimum of effort and never rouse employees to cooperative activity.· The role of government in macroeconomic management had to be pruned to a bare minimum.· Or Sally Jessy, bare minimum.· It is generally sensible to limit the additional capabilities that the new desktop publishing product will give you to the bare minimum.· Challenge it and challenge it again until it's at a bare minimum.· With the underfloor heating at a bare minimum, it gave out considerably more heat than wood, and I loathed it.· In Alabama's West Jefferson Prison inmates are kept in tiny cells, with the bare minimum of furniture.
· Which is not to say that you should not try to reduce your taxes to the absolute legal minimum.· It was exactly three metres by four, the legal minimum for a residential room.· Those who live in normally receive room and board plus a wage - often well below the legal minimum.
VERB· Back in 1949 it cost a minimum of four shillings for a mention in the InMemoriam section.· Lawyers told him it will cost a minimum of $ 10, 000 to fight back in court.
· We hope the court proceedings will be concluded quickly, so that the period of uncertainty is kept to a minimum.· We said we would keep publicity to a minimum.· Finance is usually the first issue which needs consideration: How do you keep tax to a minimum?· An increase in the number of individual interactive services is possible only if network overloading is kept to a strict minimum.· In principle, platform numbers should be kept to an absolute minimum.· Weighing ten kilograms a pair, I have to make sure the rest of my belongings are kept to an absolute minimum.· So City Hall made sure our carnal vices were kept to a public minimum.
· Because the process is extremely flexible, customers no longer need to buy a minimum of one tonne of alloy.· You need £1,000 minimum for its One Year Investment Certificate, which pays 10.5 percent gross.· He needed the minimum of cover to drop out of sight, whenever it suited him.· Anyone setting out to equip himself fully needs the barest minimum of two ferrets.· At tea they were 161 for three, still needing 223 off a minimum of 32 overs.
· But the ruling says they can only pay the bare minimum.
· Surely the Government have a responsibility to investigate mechanisms to reduce failures to a minimum.· All too often attention is directed away from the present encounter to the next so that response is reduced to a minimum.· The regulation of big business by Federal Commissions was reduced to a minimum.· The laughter was reduced to a minimum.· In view of the substantial sums of money involved, risks must be reduced to the absolute minimum.
· Obviously the software must be easy to use and manipulate, requiring the minimum of pre-knowledge and training.· Dad was to bring Mama her breakfast, since that required a minimum of skill to prepare.· Registration required a minimum of 100 founder members.· Each take-over required a minimum of two advisers: one for the raider and another for his prey.· This is very convenient for the user as it requires the minimum of handling.· Kept separate, and if possible clean, such materials require a minimum of preparation for recycling.· The groups police their own work and require the minimum of supervision.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
- Communication between them was at a minimum.
- Formal guidelines covering team objectives and operational policies were at a minimum in 1982.
- It should press, at a minimum, for a fair referendum in each.
- Managers and supervisors will no longer make hiring decisions or, at a minimum, will share such decision-making responsibilities.
- Only. 8 percent of all workers over forty work full-time at the minimum wage.
- The agent also has a vested interest in keeping the event's costs at a minimum.
- There were other ways to advertise that could keep the warnings at a minimum, and the sales of cigarettes zooming.
- When E is at a minimum, the output is the settings of the other visible switches.
WORD FAMILYnounminimumminimalismminimalistadjectiveminimalminimumminimalistadverbminimallyminimumverbminimize
1the smallest amount of something or number of things that is possible or necessary OPP maximuma minimum of two hours/£1,000 etc The judge recommended that he should serve a minimum of 12 years.minimum of He achieved enviable results with the minimum of effort.absolute/bare minimum (=the very least amount or number) Prison inmates are kept in tiny cells, with the bare minimum of furniture.keep/reduce something to a minimum She had reduced her consumption of fat and sugar to an absolute minimum.2at a/the minimum used to say that if nothing else is done, this one thing should be done: At a minimum, we must recruit two new teachers.COLLOCATIONSverbshave a minimum of something· Candidates should have a minimum of five years’ work experience.keep something to a minimum (=to keep something at a low level)· Keep the noise to a minimum, will you?reduce something to a minimum (=make something less, so it is at a low level)· We want to reduce the environmental impact to a minimum.need a minimum of something (also require a minimum of something formal)· We’ll need a minimum of two days to get this ready.adjectivesan absolute/bare minimum (=the very least amount)· He paid in five pounds, the bare minimum needed to keep the bank account open.the legal/statutory minimum (=the least amount the law says you must have)· The wage was often well below the legal minimum.the required/necessary minimum (=the least amount that you must have)· He received 35 votes, two more than the required minimum.phraseswith a minimum of fuss (=with very little anxious behaviour or activity)· They checked our passports with the minimum of fuss.with a minimum of effort (=with very little effort)· The house could be restored with a minimum of effort.