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Outmost vs Upmost vs Utmost

Outmost means outermost or farthest out.

  • Jan made a trip to the outmost reaches of northern Alaska.
  • the outmost reaches of the empire
  • Here in America, we eat the salad first, so the salad fork is on the outmost edge of the left hand side of the plate, followed by the dinner fork and then the dessert fork.

Upmost is from the word uppermost and should not be used in American English.

  • the upmost branches of the tree
  • her father was upmost in her mind
  • I must point out that all the allegations made are without foundation and I have acted at all times with the upmost probity.

Utmost usually means to the greatest degree or intensity.

  • Our department treats all matters with utmost confidentiality.
  • The training of our nation to respond to the many threats we face is of utmost importance.
  • They deserve our utmost respect and recognition for simply making the Olympic team.