to do one's level best
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To exert oneself to the utmost. This term, and that above, were originally American slang, and came from the gold-diggings of California.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to do one's level best” mean?
To exert oneself to the utmost. This term, and that above, were originally American slang, and came from the gold-diggings of California.
Is “to do one's level best” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.