bestseller

noun

best·​sell·​er ˈbes(t)-ˈse-lər How to pronounce bestseller (audio)
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 noun
best-selling adjective

Examples of bestseller in a Sentence

She has written several best sellers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Originally introduced in 2012, the concept was a bestseller between 2014 and 2019 while skinny jeans were still on trend. Sarah Jones, Footwear News, 29 Apr. 2026 His first book was an honest-to-God bestseller, and the Murdoch family, which owns HarperCollins, isn’t known for stinting on its payments to political allies. Ben Smith, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026 The study found that within the last decade, the average length of a New York Times bestseller dropped by more than 50 pages. Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026 Based on the bestseller from author Colleen Hoover, Johnson stars in the film adaptation that teases lingering secrets and a dark sinister mystery awaiting to be solved. Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2026 Geneen is the author of ten books, including her newest, This Messy Magnificent Life, and NYT bestsellers Women Food and God, Lost and Found and When Food Is Love. Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026 On rare occasions, books expected to be midlist titles become unexpected bestsellers, providing big revenue windfalls for their publisher. Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Apr. 2026 This assortment features bestsellers including the 24/7 Classic T-Shirt Bra, which has support, comfort adjustable straps and no-show double-layer back. Tory Johnson, ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026 Thirty-eight years ago, the first author’s bestseller The Hero’s Farewell (Oxford) broke new ground describing the challenges of following founders given the shadows of legendary entrepreneurs. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1864, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bestseller was in 1864

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Cite this Entry

“Bestseller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bestseller. Accessed 1 May. 2026.

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

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