the grammatical roles of "at most"

Question

I just looked up "at (the) most" in "Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English". It was under the entry for "most" as determiner and/or pronoun. One of the example sentences for it in the dictionary is:

It’ll take 20 minutes at the most.

But I feel its role is like an adverb. For example in the above sentence it seems that it adds more information to the verb, exactly the function of adverbs. Am I right?

Any response would be appreciated.

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 14 '20 at 16:05

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I think the description as 'determiner or pronoun' applies to the word 'most' within the prepositional phrase 'at most'. That phrase itself is adverbial, applying to a clause or sentence.
A mention of similar phrases.
The second answer at that link is particularly informative.

answered Mar 14 '20 at 16:05

Jack O'Flaherty

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If it's not a determiner and/or preposition, why is it within that entry? – shapoor Mar 14 '20 at 16:18
Did you read the link already? As to why something is as it is in Longman dictionary, ask them!. – Jack O'Flaherty Mar 14 '20 at 16:27
I read the link. I was my answer. Anyway, I thought you could help me with Longman's logic, too. Thank you. – shapoor Mar 14 '20 at 17:20

the grammatical roles of "at most"

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