state of the art

noun

1. the latest and most sophisticated or advanced stage of a technology, art, or science.

state of the art

noun

1. the level of knowledge and development achieved in a technique, science, etc, esp at present

adjective

1. the most recent and therefore considered the best; up-to-the-minute

   a state-of-the-art amplifier

Other Word Forms

• state-of-the-art adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of state of the art¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Idioms and Phrases

The highest level of development, very up-to-date, as in This new television set reflects the state of the art in screen technology. Despite including the word art, this term originated in technology, and its first recorded use appears in a 1910 book on the gas turbine. Today it is often used adjectivally, as in This is a state-of-the-art camera, and sometimes very loosely, as in That movie is state-of-the-art Woody Allen.

Example Sentences

The skatepark - which at the time was considered state of the art - opened in May 1978 and featured bowls, a slalom run and a half-pipe, all with names like Jaws, Torpedo and Bazooka.

From BBC

Beautiful as it is, it's hard to imagine that this elderly machine was ever state of the art.

From BBC

But the recordings he made were not state of the art, even in their own time.

From Los Angeles Times

It's state of the art technology for less than the price of a tank of fuel.

From BBC

The Home Office said it had launched new specialist police and enforcement plans, including state of the art surveillance technology to disrupt criminal smuggling gangs in northern France.

From BBC