bestseller

American  

[best-sel-er] / ˈbɛstˈsɛl ər /

Or best seller

noun

1. a book that is among those having the largest sales during a given period.

2. any product that among those of its kind is selling particularly well at a given time.

   This car was a bestseller last year.

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bestseller British  

/ ˌbɛstˈsɛlə /

noun

1. a book, record, CD, or other product that has sold in great numbers, esp over a short period

2. the author of one or more such books, etc

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Other Word Forms

• best-selling adjective
• bestsellerdom noun
• bestselling adjective

Etymology

Origin of bestseller

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; best + seller

Example Sentences

The company’s current bestseller, a three-ton, square-cut diamond known as the Cullinan, is a horror show aesthetically, yet totally on-brand.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Sam, when he was 1 year old, was the subject of his mom’s first bestseller, the 1993 memoir “Operating Instructions.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

Meanwhile, the cover of “The Behavior Gap,” his 2012 bestseller, features a roller-coaster line showing the ups and downs of greed and fear.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

The book, which provided a detailed account of the journalistic process the two Washington Post reporters used to uncover the extent of the Watergate scandal, was primed to be a bestseller.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

Monroeville, Alabama, celebrated its native daughter Lee shamelessly after her award-winning book became a national bestseller in the 1960s.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson