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The Collaborative International Dictionary
At best

Best \Best\, n. Utmost; highest endeavor or state; most nearly perfect thing, or being, or action; as, to do one's best; to the best of our ability. At best, in the utmost degree or extent applicable to the case; under the most favorable circumstances; as, life is at best very short. For best, finally. [Obs.] ``Those constitutions . . . are now established for best, and not to be mended.'' --Milton. To get the best of, to gain an advantage over, whether fairly or unfairly. To make the best of.

  1. To improve to the utmost; to use or dispose of to the greatest advantage. ``Let there be freedom to carry their commodities where they can make the best of them.''
    --Bacon.

  2. To reduce to the least possible inconvenience; as, to make the best of ill fortune or a bad bargain.

Wiktionary
at best

prep.phr. (context idiomatic English) In the most favorable of conditions; at the most.

WordNet
at best

adv. under the best of conditions; "at best we'll lose only the money" [syn: at the best] [ant: at worst]

Usage examples of "at best".

Progress has been snail-paced at best, and expectations have declined accordingly.

But periodic flares of the primary bathe the planet in such intense hard radiation that life there is marginal, at best.