best (out) of three/five/seven

idiom

used to say that the winner of a series of games, sets, etc. will be the one that wins the majority of the odd number (three, five, seven, etc.) maximum to be played
The team advanced to the finals by winning the best out of seven semifinal series four games to one.
The winner of a best of five set tennis match must win three sets.

Examples of best (out) of three/five/seven in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But perhaps the most drastic change has to do with time: instead of playing best of three (or five) sets, play is timed in eight-minute quarters, so an entire match lasts no longer than 40 minutes. Elizabeth Doerr, Robb Report, 15 Feb. 2024 The competition will be best of three, and the winner who pulls the opposing team across the marker twice gains three points. Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024 Though the Marlins were swept by Philadelphia in a best of three first-round series, Schumaker said his players are better for the experience. Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2024 Serving at 0-40 and 4-5 in the deciding set– with Italy already 1-0 down in the best of three contest -Sinner pulled out the serves and the attitude to get back from the brink and, remarkably, break the will of the Serbian. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023 After a commanding year, G2 Esports’ women’s Valorant team found themselves down 0-2 in a best of five during the grand finals of the first ever Game Changers Championship, an event solely featuring women esports teams. Melissah Yang, refinery29.com, 7 Nov. 2023 And then the division series could be the best of seven. Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2023 As long as Stefanos is not too worn out from a deep run at the French Open, the brothers hope to play Wimbledon, where men’s doubles will be best-of-three sets this year instead of best of five. Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 5 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'best (out) of three/five/seven.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near best (out) of three/five/seven

best of luck

best (out) of three/five/seven

bestow

Cite this Entry

“Best (out) of three/five/seven.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/best%20%28out%29%20of%20three%2Ffive%2Fseven. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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