Jump To:

• best
  best

  adjective

  of the highest quality, excellence, or standing.
• Best
  Best

  noun

  Charles Herbert, 1899–1978, Canadian physiologist, born in the U.S.: one of the discoverers of insulin.

best

¹ American  

[best] / bɛst /

adjective

1. 

   of the highest quality, excellence, or standing.

   I do my best work after meditation.

   Singling out the student with the top GPA is not always the most effective way to find the best students.

2. most advantageous, suitable, or desirable.

   We've investigated a number of methods, but this is the best way.

---

adverb

1. most excellently or suitably; with most advantage or success.

   I think it will be an opera role that best suits her voice.

2. in or to the highest degree; most fully (usually used in combination).

   Shakespeare's best-known poems are his sonnets, but he also wrote narrative poems.

   Eleanor Roosevelt and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy remain two of the United States' best-loved First Ladies.

   Your security system company can advise you about the features best suited for your home.

noun

1. the best, something or someone that is the most excellent, most suitable, of the highest quality, or the highest degree (often used withof ).

   They always demand and get the best.

   The best of us can make mistakes.

   To the best of my knowledge, this was the first use of that word in print.

2. a person's finest clothing.

   It's important that you wear your best.

3. a person's most agreeable or desirable emotional state (often preceded byat ).

   She's not at her best before her morning coffee, so you might want to wait a few minutes to talk to her.

4. a person's highest degree of competence, inspiration, etc. (often preceded byat ).

   He's at his best when he works in a team.

5. the highest quality to be found in a given activity or category of things (often preceded byat ).

   These gorgeous oak kitchen cabinets are an example of cabinetmaking at its best.

6. the maximum effort that a person, group, or thing can make.

   Their best fell far short of excellence.

7. a person's good wishes or kindest regards.

   Please give my best to your father.

verb (used with object)

• bests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bested,
  past participle,  past
• besting
  present participle

1. to get the better of; defeat; beat.

   He easily bested his opponent in hand-to-hand combat.

   She bested me in the argument.

idioms

1. the best part of, most of.

   Repairing the window took the best part of a day.

2. at best, under the most favorable circumstances.

   You may expect to be treated civilly, at best.

3. all for the best, for the good as the final result; to an ultimate advantage: Also for the best

   It turned out to be all for the best, though at the time we didn’t realize it.

4. make the best of, to cope with in the best way possible.

   The rain makes it a lot harder to have a picnic, but we know how to make the best of a bad situation.

5. as best one can, in the best way possible under the circumstances.

   We tried to smooth over the disagreement as best we could.

6. get / have the best of,

   1. to gain the advantage over.

   2. to defeat; subdue.

      His allergies get the best of him from time to time.

7. best of both worlds, the most excellent or desirable parts of two things combined, especially two things that might otherwise be difficult to reconcile.

   With a quiet rural atmosphere and a short commute time into the city, this suburb is ideal for office workers who want the best of both worlds.

8. had best, would be wisest or most reasonable to; ought to.

   You had best phone your mother to tell her where you are going.

9. with the best, on a par with the most capable.

   He can play bridge with the best.

Best ² American  

[best] / bɛst /

noun

1. Charles Herbert, 1899–1978, Canadian physiologist, born in the U.S.: one of the discoverers of insulin.

---

best ¹ British  

/ bɛst /

adjective

1. the superlative of good

2. most excellent of a particular group, category, etc

3. most suitable, advantageous, desirable, attractive, etc

4. most of

   the best part of an hour

5. 1. to do one's utmost to make progress

   2. to hurry

---

adverb

1. the superlative of well 1

2. in a manner surpassing all others; most excellently, advantageously, attractively, etc

3. (in combination) in or to the greatest degree or extent; most

   the best-loved hero

4. as effectively as possible within one's limitations

5. would be wise, sensible, etc, to

   you had best go now

noun

1. the most outstanding or excellent person, thing, or group in a category

2. (often preceded by at) the most excellent, pleasing, or skilled quality or condition

   journalism at its best

3. the most effective effort of which a person or group is capable

   even their best was inadequate

4. a winning majority

   the best of three games

5. Also: all the best. best wishes

   she sent him her best

6. a person's smartest outfit of clothing

7. 1. in the most favourable interpretation

   2. under the most favourable conditions

8. 1. for an ultimately good outcome

   2. with good intentions

      he meant it for the best

9. to surpass, defeat, or outwit; better

10. to concede someone's superiority

11. to cope as well as possible in the unfavourable circumstances of (often in the phrases make the best of a bad job, make the best of it )

12. informal six strokes with a cane on the buttocks or hand

verb

1. (tr) to gain the advantage over or defeat

Best ² British  

/ bɛst /

noun

1. Charles Herbert . 1899–1978, Canadian physiologist: associated with Banting and Macleod in their discovery of insulin in 1922

2. George . 1946–2005, Northern Ireland footballer

---

Best Scientific  

/ bĕst /

1. American-born Canadian physiologist who assisted Frederick Banting in the discovery of the hormone insulin. In acknowledgment of his work, Banting shared his portion of the 1923 Nobel Prize with Best. In addition to further refining the use of insulin, Best later discovered the vitamin choline and the enzyme histaminase, which breaks down histamine.

---

best More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing best

• Sunday best
• all for the best
• all the best
• as best one can
• at best
• at one's best
• better
• come off (second-best)
• do one's best
• get the better (best) of
• give it one's best shot
• had better (best)
• in one's (best) interest
• make the best of it
• on one's best behavior
• put one's best foot forward
• second best
• to the best of one's ability
• with the best of them
• with the best will in the world

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• besting
  present
• bested
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• best
  simple
• bests
  simple
• have bested
  perfect
• has bested
  perfect
• am besting
  progressive
• are besting
  progressive
• is besting
  progressive
• have been besting
  perfect progressive
• has been besting
  perfect progressive

Past

• bested
  simple
• had bested
  perfect
• was besting
  progressive
• were besting
  progressive
• had been besting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will best
  simple
• will have bested
  perfect
• will be besting
  progressive
• will have been besting
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of best

First recorded before 900; Middle English beste, Old English betst, best; cognate with Dutch best, Old High German bezzist ( German best ), Old Norse bezt, Gothic batists; see better ¹, -est ¹

---

Explanation

Nothing is better than the best — this is a word for the absolute number one example of something. Best is the opposite of worst. People love arguing about who's the best at different things. Most people think Michael Jordan is the best basketball player of all-time, and Wayne Gretzky is the best hockey player ever, but there's not much agreement on who's the best football player or baseball player. Best has other meanings too: If you defeated someone, you bested them. People also use this word to recommend something, as in "It would be best to get a lot of sleep."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

best Best bests bested besting

Today, a typical driverless truck run is best suited for what shippers call the middle-mile, or the stretch from depot to depot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Washington's envoy to the UN Mike Waltz refused to comment on the report, but said Friday: "We have always said we just simply need the best."

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The White House press secretary job is a challenging one, even under the best of circumstances.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

And as an external panel appointed by Warsh begins considering the best path forward, at least one area is ripe for change — the way the Fed communicates about the economic outlook.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

It was a huge ask, something you might try to trick a stranger into and hope for the best rather than deal with yourself.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The Odyssey has some competition for the Best Picture Oscar!

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

Devan Meserve, a spokesperson for the Global Seafood Alliance, which runs the Best Aquaculture Practices program, defended the value of such inspection programs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Retailers including Gap, Walmart and Best Buy have publicized partnerships with Muse, while Shopify said Muse will be able to buy from every merchant on its platform.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Nonetheless his mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, argued that the late king's will ought to have been respected.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

I will play along with Happy Best Friend Face because it’s Dylan.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Having lowered those personal bests to 51:14 and 1:54.33 respectively over seven years, she has established herself among the sport's leading stars.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Kenya's Doris Lemngole won the women's 3,000 in 8:31.39 with Britain's Hannah Nuttall second in 8:32.94 -- both personal bests.

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026

Colby Parkinson has 43 catches, eight for touchdowns, both career bests.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026

But the third, about a Latino World War II pilot who bests a Yautja in a deadly flight contest, underscores ingenuity as being superior to any weapon or combat skill.

From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2025

“A sailor? A common sailor? A common ordinary seaman bests the great Inigo Montoya with the sword? In-con-ceiv-a-ble. He must be the Dread Pirate Roberts. Otherwise it makes no sense.”

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

Case in point: “Heart of the Beast” was bested in its opening weekend by “Avengers Endgame: Encore,” a theatrical rerelease of Marvel’s 2019 hit.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

Oregon coach Dan Lanning has bested Riley in both of their head-to-head meetings, too.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

The U.S. swimmer bested Mark Spitz’s seven golds won at the Munich games in 1972.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Its third-quarter guidance for both profit and sales, at the midpoint, also bested forecasts.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Brandon was a decent opponent but I still bested him, scoring the final winning point.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

It’s outperforming huge companies like Nvidia and Google on some metrics, while besting gold and the world’s dominant currencies on others.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026

Among the company’s business segments, second-quarter sales for aeronautics, which includes the F-35 fighter jet, rose 9.3% to $8.11 billion, besting the FactSet consensus of $7.61 billion.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

The big-budget epic opened with $264 million at the global box office, besting many franchise films.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Since moving to Germany, Kane's numbers have gone stratospheric, besting Haaland's goal tallies every season and establishing himself as a frontrunner in the race for the Ballon d'Or.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

If an engineer capable of besting Eiffel did not step forward soon, Burnham knew, there simply would not be enough time left to build anything worthy of the fair.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• beat
• blank
• conquer
• outclass
• outdo
• outshine
• overcome
• surpass
• take care of
• trounce

---