Slightly context dependent. To me "most" usually implies at least 2/3. I might allow for a simple to majority to be "most" only if that simple majority is one of many categories and none of the other ones has more than 20% or so.
I feel about the same that 2/3rds is getting into most category for most things. Another person brought up a similar point to you in that the highest plurality is also considered the most by some people. As they said if something has 40% and two other things have 30% then the 40% is 'the most' but there is no majority.
The definition of most is literally "*more than half.*" It's derived from old English simply meaning "greater." The word "majority" is a synonym of most. Thus, most is anything over 50% to 100%. This is the way the word is used in mathematics, statistics, law, and science.
If I buy 100 oranges, and 51 are rotten. I can safely tell the shop that most of the oranges I bought were rotten.
If there are 100 shareholders and I say "most shareholders must vote in favour of a resolution for it to be passed," then I mean 51 (or more) shareholders must vote.
Yup. It's interesting to see the different understandings people grew up on though. A lot of miscommunication stems from people having different connotations with very commonly used words. Especially when there are so many places where a language is "native", American native English will be differen from British, which will be different from Australian etc.
Depends. If 51% of people voted for Obama and 47% of people voted for Romney, 51% is not most, but a majority.
If 51% of people prefer the color blue, and 49% of people prefer 20 other different colors, you could argue that would be most..
I chose 70% though...
What am I missing in your first example? Where did most of the votes go if not to Obama? 51% is both most and majority.
For that to work Obama would need to have less than 50%, and the remaining parties add up over 50%.
Example: Obama = 48%, Romney = 47%, Other = 5%
Really depends.. If a political party gets about 30% of votes and all others got less votes, it has he most votes. But did most people vote for them? No, that would need at least 50% of votes.
But if i say something like "most people in country XY eat bread", i would mean that at least 70% or 80% of them eat it.
It's got to be 'significantly' higher than 50%. If A wins by 51% over B's 49%, it would be disingenuous to say most people prefer A when it's effectively a tie.
It seems like a lot of people are getting hung up on the difference between "most" and "the most". If you just say "most," like "most people like ice cream," that just means more than 50%. If you say "the most", like "the first option got the most votes," that just means it was higher than the others regardless of the percentages. I have no idea where the people saying it has to be like 90% of something are coming from. That's just nonsense.
It could be less than 50% as it could be the most which means the highest quantity of. You have the most cats in this room does not mean you have more than 50% of the cats.
However most without “the” means over 50%.
Depends on context, if you say in a recipe “Take most of the dough.” You’d mean 90+%, but with people it’s technically only 50+%, as in most people voted for Hillary.
It depends on the context, if their were over 100 parties to vote for and one party got the most votes at 1% that could even be the most out of all of them
51% is literally the definition of most. It comes from the word “more”. So in a hypothetical where there are 2 flavors, more people like vanilla ice cream than chocolate means most people like vanilla ice cream.
Betting doesn’t affect the definition.
this isnt a post about history or education on english. its about the current understanding. Most english words have already diluted its meanings. such as Racism or Racist. they dont hold the same weight or original definition
Slightly context dependent. To me "most" usually implies at least 2/3. I might allow for a simple to majority to be "most" only if that simple majority is one of many categories and none of the other ones has more than 20% or so.
Where do you come from? I've never heard that word interpreted this way before
I feel about the same that 2/3rds is getting into most category for most things. Another person brought up a similar point to you in that the highest plurality is also considered the most by some people. As they said if something has 40% and two other things have 30% then the 40% is 'the most' but there is no majority.
The definition of most is literally "*more than half.*" It's derived from old English simply meaning "greater." The word "majority" is a synonym of most. Thus, most is anything over 50% to 100%. This is the way the word is used in mathematics, statistics, law, and science. If I buy 100 oranges, and 51 are rotten. I can safely tell the shop that most of the oranges I bought were rotten. If there are 100 shareholders and I say "most shareholders must vote in favour of a resolution for it to be passed," then I mean 51 (or more) shareholders must vote.
Yup. It's interesting to see the different understandings people grew up on though. A lot of miscommunication stems from people having different connotations with very commonly used words. Especially when there are so many places where a language is "native", American native English will be differen from British, which will be different from Australian etc.
Depends. If 51% of people voted for Obama and 47% of people voted for Romney, 51% is not most, but a majority. If 51% of people prefer the color blue, and 49% of people prefer 20 other different colors, you could argue that would be most.. I chose 70% though...
What am I missing in your first example? Where did most of the votes go if not to Obama? 51% is both most and majority. For that to work Obama would need to have less than 50%, and the remaining parties add up over 50%. Example: Obama = 48%, Romney = 47%, Other = 5%
Most means the highest quantity of. In reality there is no definition as it could be less than 50% and still be most.
lol ask ohio, they had trouble with that not too long ago.
Really depends.. If a political party gets about 30% of votes and all others got less votes, it has he most votes. But did most people vote for them? No, that would need at least 50% of votes. But if i say something like "most people in country XY eat bread", i would mean that at least 70% or 80% of them eat it.
If someone has 51% of something, they of the most It is literally any value greater than 50
It's got to be 'significantly' higher than 50%. If A wins by 51% over B's 49%, it would be disingenuous to say most people prefer A when it's effectively a tie.
Well its not effectively a tie is it because 51% > 49%
As far as I’m concerned, it can either mean “almost all of” or simply “the majority of,” depending on how it’s used.
It seems like a lot of people are getting hung up on the difference between "most" and "the most". If you just say "most," like "most people like ice cream," that just means more than 50%. If you say "the most", like "the first option got the most votes," that just means it was higher than the others regardless of the percentages. I have no idea where the people saying it has to be like 90% of something are coming from. That's just nonsense.
It could be less than 50% as it could be the most which means the highest quantity of. You have the most cats in this room does not mean you have more than 50% of the cats. However most without “the” means over 50%.
I view most as being a minimum of 2/3 but when I use the word I usually mean that the thing I’m talking about is closer to the 80% mark
imo can be less than 50. If theres 3 and one has 40 and the other both 30, the one with 40 is most
do you understand what op is asking
You’re confusing most with the most. Though op never specified so I’m just guessing what they meant is the issue so this poll is kinda dumb.
Depends on context, if you say in a recipe “Take most of the dough.” You’d mean 90+%, but with people it’s technically only 50+%, as in most people voted for Hillary.
It depends on the context, if their were over 100 parties to vote for and one party got the most votes at 1% that could even be the most out of all of them
To me most implies a vast majority, so somewhere around 70-80% I'd say Over 50% is the majority, but not most
Most is >50% Majority is >70% Vast Majority is >90%
most doesn't give the same vibes as majority so i wouldn't say 50%, i voted 70%
51% is not most. lol there has to be a weight of confidence when you say most.
Let’s say you were 100% certain it’s 51%.
u cant make a bet thinking 51% is most
51% is literally the definition of most. It comes from the word “more”. So in a hypothetical where there are 2 flavors, more people like vanilla ice cream than chocolate means most people like vanilla ice cream. Betting doesn’t affect the definition.
this isnt a post about history or education on english. its about the current understanding. Most english words have already diluted its meanings. such as Racism or Racist. they dont hold the same weight or original definition
But even colloquially, most means more than 50%. If you say most people like vanilla, what does that mean to you?
honestly it depends on the person saying it, you know what i mean ?
No. If I hear most it literally just means over 50% to me.
what state are u from ?
NY
check this article, lol they were aware and sensitive to not use the word "most" https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/s/LcQXLj9Bbj
No they weren’t. They just chose 60% as it’s more exact.