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From Middle English upper-moste; equivalent to upper +‎ -most.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʌpəməʊst/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈʌpɚˌmoʊst/

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uppermost

1. superlative form of upper: most upper.
   1. At or nearest the top of something.

      Synonyms: upmost, topmost, highest

      Antonyms: lowermost, bottommost, lowest, least, nethermost

      Coordinate term: tallest

      She couldn't reach the bowls on the uppermost shelf, so she made do with a mug.

      • 2005, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means, Tax reform: hearing before the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, June 8, 2005, Volume 36, Issues 109-123‎^[1]:

        Well, to me, if you are restricting it to economic policy — because I can surely think of some noneconomic policy concerns that are more uppermost in my mind.

      • 2015, Lawrence A. Pervin, Goal Concepts in Personality and Social Psychology‎^[2]:

        As a result, it is not always an easy matter to evaluate, as an outsider, the effectiveness of a life-task strategy (i.e., sometimes the objective indicators of success and failure do not coincide with the goals most uppermost in a person's mind).

   2. Of top rank, importance, etc.

      Synonyms: upmost, topmost, highest

      Antonyms: lowest, least

      of uppermost importance;   of uppermost concern

      • 1990 February 4, Ruth Mountaingrove, “Feeling Less Than A Peer”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 14:

        This brings me to the uppermost problem for over-60-year-old lesbians. Loneliness.

      • 2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 735:

        For him, as for his colleagues, concern with priestly comportment and purity is uppermost.

• utmost

uppermost (not comparable)

1. In the highest position.