What does sickest mean?
“Sickest” is the superlative of “sick.” In its literal sense, it identifies the person or thing that is most ill, most seriously unwell, or most affected by sickness. It is also widely used informally as an emphatic expression of admiration: a performance, meal, song, or trick might be called “the sickest,” meaning that it is exceptionally good, intense, or entertaining. A third informal use characterizes conduct as wild, eccentric, or extreme. These meanings coexist readily, so context determines whether the word is being used medically or as slang. The literal comparison is familiar in everyday British and American English, whereas the admiring slang sense is more informal and appears most often in speech, informal writing, and enthusiastic reviews. As a nonstandard intensified comparative, it should usually be replaced with “sickest” only when the superlative is genuinely intended; an intensified form such as “really sick” is normally needed for comparisons between two things.
Suffering from illness to the greatest degree; the most unwell or most severely affected by sickness.
"The sickest patients received specialist care first."
Also used informally for something exceptionally impressive or extreme.
In the manner or to the degree of being most ill, unwell, or affected by sickness.
"He became sickest after the long journey."
The adverb is much less common than the adjective, though it is grammatically regular.
One word can report the height of illness and, in informal English, the height of excellence: “That was the sickest guitar solo I’ve ever heard.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of sickest
The word ultimately comes from Old English “siec,” meaning ill or afflicted, which developed into Middle English “sick.” The modern form “sick” also came to express disgust or moral criticism, and informal American English gradually extended it into an emphatic term of admiration. “Sickest” is simply the superlative of that inherited adjective, while related forms such as “sickly,” “sickness,” and “sickening” continue the same Old English root.
Related word forms
How sickest is actually used
The literal superlative is common in both formal and informal English. The exaggerated praise sense—“the sickest”—is especially associated with informal speech and is not normally used in highly formal writing.
Easily confused with sickest
“Sickest” is the comparative superlative of “sick,” whereas “sickly” describes someone or something as persistently or characteristically weak, frail, or unwell.