meisten

Meisten is a German word used as a determiner meaning the majority or the greatest number of members in a group. It commonly appears in the fixed phrase die meisten, which translates to the majority of or most of. Meisten is not a standalone noun; it functions as a quantifier that accompanies a plural noun.

Grammatically, meisten declines with the definite article in the plural. In the nominative and accusative cases it appears as die meisten, in the genitive as der meisten, and in the dative as den meisten. For example: Die meisten Menschen verstehen das Prinzip. Ich vertraue der meisten Politik?—die richtige Form is die meisten, den meisten, der meisten depending on the sentence.

Usage notes and nuance: die meisten is used to indicate the overwhelming part of a group in statements about general tendencies or statistics. It can be contrasted with das Meiste (the most part or the bulk of something) and with am meisten (the adverbial form meaning most or most of all in comparative or emphatic contexts). In English translations, die meisten is typically rendered as “the most of” or “the majority of.” The term is common in everyday language, journalism, and statistical writing when referring to large portions of a population or set.

See also: Mehrheit, viel, am meisten, die Meisten (as a phrase)

This article treats meisten as a German determinative form rather than a standalone term or proper noun.