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favourite

British  
/ ˈfeɪvrɪt, ˈfeɪvərɪt /

adjective

  1. (prenominal) most liked; preferred above all others

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

    1. a person or thing regarded with especial preference or liking

    2. ( as modifier )

      a favourite book

  1. sport a competitor thought likely to win

  2. (pl) computing a place on certain browsers that allows internet users to list the addresses of websites they find and like with a click of the mouse so that they can revisit them merely by opening the list and clicking on the address

  3. to display favouritism

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of favourite

C16: from Italian favorito , from favorire to favour, from Latin favēre

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

No writing by me so far, except the essays we had to crank out on uninspiring topics such as My Favourite Pet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025

The film is Stone's fourth collaboration with Lanthimos following The Favourite, Kinds of Kindness and Poor Things - which won the 36-year-old her second best actress Oscar.

From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025

Despite them, however, McDonald has a book about streaming out this month, “You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favourite Song.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2024

The cat picture he used was a reproduction of "A Favourite Cat" by JM Burbank, an artist who exhibited animal pictures during the 1830s in Britain.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2024

Evidently neither particular nor universal Favourite, as so many habitu�s, conspicuous when here by their noble presence, are now still more conspicuous by their noble absence.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, June 21 1890 by Various