best

adjective \ ˈbest \

Definition of best

1 :excelling all others

the best student in the class

2 :most productive of good :offering or producing the greatest advantage, utility, or satisfaction

What is the best thing to do?

3 :most, largest

It rained for the best part of their vacation.

superlative of good

See best defined for English-language learners

See best defined for kids

Examples of best in a Sentence

You should wear your best clothes tonight.
We ate the best food and drank the best wines.
His modesty and sense of humor are his best qualities.
Is that your best offer?
Which of these do you think tastes best?
Mary sends you her very best wishes.
She's the best student in her class.
He won the award for best actor in a drama.
She truly believes that this is the best way to solve the problem.
She's the team's best hope for a medal.

Recent Examples of best from the Web

Bradley's relationship with Hernandez had been strictly professional at first, but the two men became best friends, sharing an interest in video games, liquor, and blunts.

— alex french, Esquire, "The Man Who Knows Aaron Hernandez's Secrets," 15 Aug. 2017
In the nineties, best friends would express their love for each other with matching broken heart necklaces.

— devon abelman, Allure, "Dose of Colors's Desi x Katy Collection Sold Out in Less Than a Day," 15 Aug. 2017
The first step in best practices for brush cleaning is to choose the right cleanser.

— alexandra tunell, Harper's BAZAAR, "How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes," 24 July 2017
Chris Hellmuth, who people in Mr. DiNardo’s orbit said was close to him, wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday that the two were best friends since fourth grade, but grew apart because of Mr. DiNardo’s behavior after an ATV accident.

— trip gabriel, matthew haag and jon hurdle, New York Times, "Behind Bucks County Killings, a Young Life Skidding Off the Rails," 17 July 2017
No idea what’s up’ Besides being best friends, Meo and Sturgis were co-workers at a construction company owned by Sturgis’ father, Mark Potash.

— laura mccrystal, Philly.com, "Drugs and deception: How Cosmo DiNardo and cousin Sean Kratz killed four men," 15 July 2017
Believe it or not, St. Joseph will be one of the BEST places in the U.S. to view the total eclipse on August 21 of 2017.

— eric adler, kansascity, "Why the mania over August’s solar eclipse? There hasn’t been one like it since 1778.," 14 July 2017
The format will be partner best ball, with the lower net score representing each pair's score on each hole, the release said.

— Naperville Sun, "Park district holding men's, women's and youth golf tourneys," 7 July 2017
Family members of Patterson and Foster say the two were best friends.

— charlotteobserver, "Man turns himself in, charged in connection to Lancaster double homicide," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'best.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of best

Middle English, from Old English betst; akin to Old English bōt remedy — more at better

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

best

adverb

Definition of best

1 :in the best (see ¹best) way :to greatest advantage

Some things are best left unsaid.

2 :most

Those best able will provide needed support.

superlative of well

— as best

:as well, skillfully, or accurately as

Try to do it as best you can.

See best defined for English-language learners

Examples of best in a Sentence

The sauce is best served cold.
They work best under pressure.
That's what we do best!
We need to think about how best to fix this problem.
The work should be done by the people who are best able to do it.
She's best suited to life in the city.
He is best known for his invention of the lightbulb.
The museum features some of the best-known examples of this style of painting.

Recent Examples of best from the Web

Narrowly elected mayor in December 2015 after unsuccessful runs in 1991 and 2003, Turner was perhaps best known prior to Harvey for his comments after flooding in April 2016 killed eight people.

— Washington Post, "Harvey tests political opposites in Texas’ Abbott, Turner," 31 Aug. 2017
Best known for that national title at Villanova, Massimino also coached at Stony Brook, UNLV and Cleveland State.

— tim reynolds, chicagotribune.com, "Rollie Massimino, who led Villanova to 1985 NCAA title, dies," 30 Aug. 2017
The talented stylists are trained to work with every hair type and know what cut and styles will look best on you.

— birmingham magazine, AL.com, "Shop & Splurge: the results of 2017 Best of Birmingham," 28 Aug. 2017
Sam Upshaw After ending Bowling Green’s state-best 28-game winning streak Friday night, the good news continued Saturday morning for the Pleasure Ridge Park High School football team.

— jason frakes, The Courier-Journal, "PRP QB Robinson cleared to return after injury; Trinity's win streak now longest," 26 Aug. 2017
BEST PLAYER BEFORE 1960 Wayne Sevier, Sweetwater: Led San Diego State to conference title in ’62.

— john maffei, San Diego U-T Preps, "Who’s your best of the best?," 26 Aug. 2017
That is obtuse at best, and may well be deemed by historians of the future as outright negligence.

— robert bateman, Esquire, "A Few Words About My Friend Michelle, and Trump's Transgender Military Ban," 24 Aug. 2017
And in Britain large parts of politics will remain either technocratic or marked by left-right priorities — how best to combine state and market in infrastructure and social-care spending, for example, or how to rein in inequality.

— david goodhart, National Review, "On the Road to Somewhere, the Divide between Elites and Populists," 21 Aug. 2017
Despite launching a Sunday-night show on NBC this summer, Megyn Kelly is still probably best known for her public fights with then-presidential-candidate Donald Trump.

— claire landsbaum, The Cut, "Megyn Kelly Wants Her New Daytime Show to Be Good for Your Soul," 17 Aug. 2017

Origin and Etymology of best

see ¹best

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

best

noun

Definition of best

plural best

1 :the best (see ¹best) state or part

You haven't heard the best of it.

2 :one that is best

the best falls short

saved the best for last

3 :the greatest degree of good or excellence

He's at his best in front of a live audience.

democracy at its best

4 a :one's maximum effort

do your best

b :a best performance or achievement

ran a new personal best

5 :best clothes

wearing their Sunday best

— at best

:under the most favorable circumstances

won't be finished for another three months at best

At best, you will earn back what you paid in.

He's an average writer at best.

… was among the worst schools in a city whose public education could be described as struggling, at best.
—Ann Carrns

— get the best of

:to overcome or outdo (someone or something) :to get the better of

The hero got the best of the villain in the end.

I let my emotions get the best of me and said something I regret.

Let's face it: As much as we like to eat healthy, the old sweet tooth sometimes gets the best of us.
—Denise I. O'Neal

See best defined for English-language learners

Examples of best in a Sentence

Out of all of my workers, he's the best.
Our company is the best in the business.
Thanks, Dad. You're the best!
I have one more gift for you, and I saved the best for last.
Bad things happen to the best of us.
They want the best for their children.
Even in the best of times, we had trouble paying our bills.
In the best of all possible worlds, no one would be without food and clean water.
I have a wonderful family and a great job, so I feel that I have the best of both worlds.
He did his best to help them.

Recent Examples of best from the Web

Hunt took the 100 in 10.95 and the 200 in 22.19, both season bests.

— gene chamberlain, Elgin Courier-News, "Iowa recruit Jay Hunt regains focus as Batavia dominates Kane County Meet," 6 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of best

see ¹best

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

best Synonyms

Synonyms

array, finery, bravery, caparison, feather, frippery, full dress, gaiety (also gayety), glad rags, regalia

Related Words

apparel, attire, costume, duds, habiliment (s), rags, raiment, rig, rigging, threads, toggery, togs, vestiary, vesture, wear

Near Antonyms

tatters; disarray, dishabille

best

verb

Definition of best

transitive verb

:to get the better of :outdo

bested by their opponents

See best defined for English-language learners

Examples of best in a Sentence

at last she's bested her card-playing mother at the game of hearts

Recent Examples of best from the Web

The win means that Mayweather bested Rocky Marciano's 49-0 career record and added to a resume that had already established him as one of the all-time greats.

— rick maese, chicagotribune.com, "While Floyd Mayweather heads back to retirement, Conor McGregor weighs his fighting options," 27 Aug. 2017
Even Thor and Deadpool admitted they've been bested by the Amazonian heroine.

— ella ceron, Teen Vogue, "James Cameron Called "Wonder Woman" an "Objectified Icon," Which Misses the Film's Point," 25 Aug. 2017
The brash 20-year-old from Indiana eclipsed her second individual world record of the meet in the 50 breaststroke, again besting Russian rival Yulia Efimova, and returned as part of the women’s 4×100 medley relay that also broke the world record.

— paul newberry, The Seattle Times, "Dressel has breakout moment at Budapest world championships," 30 July 2017
A league-record 148 student-athletes boasted perfect 4.0 GPAs in 2016-17, besting by two the previous record, set last year.

— samford athletics, AL.com, "Samford places 196 on SoCon Academic Honor Roll," 6 July 2017
Before U of L joined the ACC, NC State actually won the recruiting spending battle for the fiscal year of 2014, besting Clemson, FSU and Georgia Tech.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "How much does Louisville spend on recruiting compared to other ACC schools?," 6 July 2017
This is the lightest Bell has been in his career, besting the previous low of 335.

— clarence e. hill jr., star-telegram, "Bell motivated to lose weight by dad’s death, contract bonus," 16 June 2017
She was bested by Oak Park (37-1) and pitcher Chardonnay Harris, who allowed one hit while striking out 16.

— tony baranek, Daily Southtown, "Lincoln-Way East falls in Class 4A state final on late home run," 11 June 2017
McCullough bested 50 other contestants and will represent the U.S. at the Miss Universe contest.

— Washington Post, "Government scientist from DC wins Miss USA title," 15 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of best

see ¹best

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1863

See Words from the same year

best Synonyms

Synonyms

beat, conquer, defeat, dispatch, do down [British], get, get around, lick, master, overbear, overcome, overmatch, prevail (over), skunk, stop, subdue, surmount, take, trim, triumph (over), upend, win (against), worst

Antonyms

lose (to)

Related Words

sweep; edge (out), nose out, pip [British]; annihilate, blow away, blow out, bomb, break, bury, clobber, cream, crush, drub, finish, flatten, overwhelm, rout, shellac, skin, slaughter, smoke [slang], snow under, thrash, trounce, upset, wallop, wax [slang], whip; cap, excel, flourish, score, succeed; knock off, knock over, overpower, overthrow, subjugate, unseat, vanquish; ace (out), better, eclipse, exceed, excel, outdistance, outdo, outfight, outshine, outstrip, overtop, surpass, top, transcend

Near Antonyms

fall, give up, go down, go under; collapse, fail, flop, flunk, fold, wash out

best

auxiliary verb

Definition of best

:had best (see ²best 1)

you best listen

Origin and Etymology of best

see ¹best

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1897

See Words from the same year

best Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

lose (to)

Related Words

Near Antonyms

fall, give up, go down, go under; collapse, fail, flop, flunk, fold, wash out

Best

biographical name \ ˈbest \

Definition of Best

Charles Herbert 1899–1978 Canadian (American-born) physiologist

BEST Defined for English Language Learners

best

adjective

Definition of best for English Language Learners

: better than all others in quality or value
: most skillful, talented, or successful
: most appropriate, useful, or helpful

best

adverb

Definition of best for English Language Learners

: in the best way : in a way that is better than all others : with the most success or benefit
: to the greatest degree or extent

best

noun

Definition of best for English Language Learners

the best : the best person or thing : the best group of people or things
: someone's or something's most effective, capable, or successful condition
: the highest level that you can do or achieve

best

verb

Definition of best for English Language Learners

: to do better than (someone or something) : to defeat or outdo (someone or something)

BEST Defined for Kids

best

adjective \ ˈbest \

Definition of best for Students

1 :better than all others

He's the best speller in the class.

2 :most appropriate, useful, or helpful

This is the best way to solve the problem.

superlative of good

— best part

:³most

It rained for the best part of their vacation.

best

adverb

Definition of best for Students

1 :in a way that is better than all the others

This dessert is best eaten hot.

2 :²most 1

She's best able to do the work.

superlative of well

best

noun

Definition of best for Students

1 :a person or thing or part of a thing that is better than all the others

You're the best!

2 :someone's greatest effort

Do your best.

best

verb

Definition of best for Students

bested; besting

:to do better than :defeat or outdo

He bested us in every game.

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