maxim

Other forms of maxim

plural

maxims·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about maxim

What does maxim mean?

maxim means "a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in maxim?

maxim has 2 syllables: max-im. The stress falls on "max". In IPA it is /ˈmæksəm/.

What is another word for maxim?

Close synonyms include axiom, Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is maxim a common word?

maxim is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.