OPTIMUM (optima)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: optima   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does optimum mean? 

• OPTIMUM (noun)
  The noun OPTIMUM has 1 sense:

1. most favorable conditions or greatest degree or amount possible under given circumstances

  Familiarity information: OPTIMUM used as a noun is very rare.

• OPTIMUM (adjective)
  The adjective OPTIMUM has 1 sense:

1. most desirable possible under a restriction expressed or implied

  Familiarity information: OPTIMUM used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OPTIMUM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Most favorable conditions or greatest degree or amount possible under given circumstances

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("optimum" is a kind of...):

good; goodness (that which is pleasing or valuable or useful)

Derivation:

optimal (most desirable possible under a restriction expressed or implied)

optimise; optimize (make optimal; get the most out of; use best)

optimum (most desirable possible under a restriction expressed or implied)

• OPTIMUM (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Most desirable possible under a restriction expressed or implied

Synonyms:

optimal; optimum

Context example:

optimal concentration of a drug

Similar:

best ((superlative of 'good') having the most positive qualities)

Derivation:

optimum (most favorable conditions or greatest degree or amount possible under given circumstances)

 Context examples 

Meta-analytical tools showed that an optimum temperature of between 104 and 109 degrees Fahrenheit improved overall sleep quality.

(Bathing 90 minutes before bedtime can improve sleep quality, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Patients with optimum magnesium levels require less Vitamin D supplementation to achieve sufficient Vitamin D levels.

(Low Magnesium Levels Make Vitamin D Ineffective, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Systems of administering drugs through controlled delivery so that an optimum amount reaches the target site.

(Drug Delivery System, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Aspartyl Proteases (Aspartic Endopeptidases) have an acidic residue (aspartate) involved in the catalytic process, have a pH optimum below 5 and catalyze the cleavage of internal peptide bonds in a polypeptide or protein.

(Aspartyl Protease, NCI Thesaurus)

A period of high temperature; a postglacial thermal optimum.

(Altithermal, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

New initiatives such as the Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast are designed to help farmers apply fertilizer at optimum times to limit nutrient runoff to the Gulf.

(Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ is the largest ever measured, NOAA)

This species is acid fast, nonmotile with optimum growth on Lowenstein-Jensen medium, urease and catalase positive, niacin and nitrate negative, and produces pigment when cultured and exposed to light.

(Mycobacterium marinum, NCI Thesaurus)

An environmental stress indicator for coral; if conditions for corals are not optimum, the corals will expel the algae that live among the living polyps, therefore giving the colony a bleached appearance.

(Coral bleaching, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

An enzyme that catalyses the cleavage of inorganic phosphate non-specifically from a wide variety of phosphate esters and having a high (greater than 8) pH optimum.

(Alkaline Phosphatase, NCI Thesaurus)

The detailed planning of studies of the safety, efficacy, or optimum dosage schedule (if appropriate) of one or more diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques selected according to predetermined criteria of eligibility and observed for predefined evidence of favorable and unfavorable effects.

(Clinical Trials Design, NCI Thesaurus)