maximax

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noun

A strategy or algorithm that seeks to maximize the maximum possible result (that is, that prefers the alternative with the chance of the best possible outcome, even if its expected outcome and its worst possible outcome are worse than other alternatives); often used attributively, as "maximax strategy", "maximax approach", and so on.

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Meanings

nounmaximax (uncountable)
  1. uncountabledecision theorycomputerA strategy or algorithm that seeks to maximize the maximum possible result (that is, that prefers the alternative with the chance of the best possible outcome, even if its expected outcome and its worst possible outcome are worse than other alternatives); often used attributively, as "maximax strategy", "maximax approach", and so on.

    The first criterion is the Hurwicz criterion, often referred to the maximax criterion. […] the decision-maker is always optimistic and attempts to maximize profits by a go-for-broke strategy.

    2009, Harold Kerzner, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, Tenth Edition, John Wiley and Sons, →ISBN, page 749

Origin

From maxi(mum), maxi(mize) + max(imum).

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Cite this entry
APA

maximax. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maximax

MLA

“maximax.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maximax. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maximax,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maximax.

Source: maximax on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.