bestseller

noun

best·​sell·​er ˈbes(t)-ˈse-lər 

variants or best seller

plural bestsellers or best sellers

: a popular product and especially a book whose sales are among the highest of its class

[Isabel] Allende's new book is spun from the stuff of epic romances: eternal love, lost innocence, distant locales, revolution. In short, all the elements of a sure bestseller.

—Julie K. L. Dam

The Harvard Book Store Café … is not only the obvious choice for the latest best seller but the intelligent break for a shopper's graze.

—Alice Rubenstein Gochman

Two million copies have been sold, and it has been on the New York Times bestseller list for four years.

—Judith Daniels

… the two Fisher-Price bestsellers are the company's Fun with Food [toy] series and the Fisher-Price Fun with Food Kitchen.

—The New Yorker

She knows what the mass market wants—Vanderbilt and Chaps [fragrances] are best sellers—and she has a flair for what appeals to a more specialized market …

—Amy Singer

best-sellerdom

ˈbes(t)-ˈse-lər-dəm 

noun

best-selling

ˈbes(t)-ˈse-liŋ 

adjective

Examples of bestseller in a Sentence

She has written several best sellers.

Recent Examples on the Web

Published in 2018 by Albin Michel in France and in 2020 by Europa Editions in the US, Fresh Water for Flowers was an instant bestseller, winning the Maison de la Presse Prize and Paperback Readers Prize. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2026

Prep was published in 2005 and became a bestseller while also earning critical acclaim. — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2026

Atkins had been besotted by science fiction and science fact, notably the futurist writer Alvin Toffler’s bestsellers Future Shock (1970) and The Third Wave (1980). — Michaelangelo Matos, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2026

Nevertheless, Michelle Remembers became a bestseller as well as a resource for law enforcement and mental health practitioners, who took the stories to heart and expected to find similar crimes in their communities. — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1864, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bestseller

• bookseller
• flagellar
• impeller
• lamellar
• micellar
• modeller
• ocellar
• patellar
• propeller
• reseller
• scutellar
• beller

Kids Definition

best-seller

noun

best-sell·​er

ˈbes(t)-ˈsel-ər

: an article (as a book) whose sales are among the highest of its kind

best-selling

-ˈsel-iŋ

adjective