bare minimum
English
Noun
bare minimum
- The smallest possible quantity or the least fulfilling, but still adequate, condition that is required, acceptable, or suitable for some purpose.
- 1852, Joseph Fletcher, "Statistics of the Farm School System of the Continent," Journal of the Statistical Society of London, vol. 15, no. 1, p. 32,
- The Belgian colonies, if they adhere to these limits, must provide for all their wants at a lower cost by one half than the French as a bare minimum.
- 1948, D. B. Copland, "United States Policy in China," Pacific Affairs, vol. 21, no. 4, p. 344,
- It is the old problem of what a victor is to do with the vanquished, if the the latter is to gain the bare minimum of economic independence.
- 2006, Jean Friedman, "Can Bolivia's Revolution Pay Dividends?," Time, 1 Nov.,
- The foreign companies would punish Bolivia by refusing to invest and only sustaining the bare minimum of operations here.
- 1852, Joseph Fletcher, "Statistics of the Farm School System of the Continent," Journal of the Statistical Society of London, vol. 15, no. 1, p. 32,
Synonyms
- modicum