Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

choice

[chois]
See more synonyms for choice on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an act or instance of choosing; selection: Her choice of a computer was made after months of research. His parents were not happy with his choice of friends.
  2. the right, power, or opportunity to choose; option: The child had no choice about going to school.
  3. the person or thing chosen or eligible to be chosen: This book is my choice. He is one of many choices for the award.
  4. an alternative: There is another choice.
  5. an abundance or variety from which to choose: a wide choice of candidates.
  6. something that is preferred or preferable to others; the best part of something: Mare's Nest is the choice in the sixth race.
  7. a carefully selected supply: This restaurant has a fine choice of wines.
  8. a choice grade of beef.
Show More
adjective, choic·er, choic·est.
  1. worthy of being chosen; excellent; superior.
  2. carefully selected: choice words.
  3. (in the grading of beef in the U.S.) rated between prime and good.
Show More
Idioms
  1. of choice, that is generally preferred: A detached house is still the home of choice.
Show More

Origin of choice

1250–1300; Middle English chois < Old French, derivative of choisir to perceive, choose < Germanic; see choose
Related formschoice·less, adjectivechoice·ly, adverbchoice·ness, nounpre·choice, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
9. select, rare, uncommon, valuable, precious.

Synonym study

2. Choice, alternative, option, preference all suggest the power of choosing between things. Choice implies the opportunity to choose: a choice of evils. Alternative suggests that one has a choice between only two possibilities. It is often used with a negative to mean that there is no second possibility: to have no alternative. Option emphasizes free right or privilege of choosing: to exercise one's option. Preference applies to a choice based on liking or partiality: to state a preference. 9. See fine1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

primepreferredexcellentelectprizeexclusivefinewinnervaluableelitespecialnice10exceptionalexquisitefirst-classpopularpreciouspreferentialrare

Examples from the Web for choicest

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He had a brilliant mind, and said the choicest things with a horse laugh.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • It did seem as if the choicest fruit always came to her specked.

  • This was a retired spot, not of the choicest kind, leading into the fields.

    Barnaby Rudge

    Charles Dickens

  • Let the choicest dainties be heaped together in unbounded profusion.

    Imogen

    William Godwin

  • “He is here,” he repeated gravely, and the words were couched in his choicest accents.

British Dictionary definitions for choicest

choice

noun
  1. the act or an instance of choosing or selecting
  2. the opportunity or power of choosing
  3. a person or thing chosen or that may be chosenhe was a possible choice
  4. an alternative action or possibilitywhat choice did I have?
  5. a supply from which to selecta poor choice of shoes
  6. of choice preferred; favourite
Show More
adjective
  1. of superior quality; excellentchoice wine
  2. carefully chosen, appropriatea few choice words will do the trick
  3. vulgar or rudechoice language
Show More
Derived Formschoicely, adverbchoiceness, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Old French chois, from choisir to choose
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

Word Origin and History for choicest

choice

n.

mid-14c., "that which is choice," from choice (adj.) blended with earlier chois (n.) "action of selecting" (c.1300); "power of choosing" (early 14c.), "someone or something chosen" (late 14c.), from Old French chois "one's choice; fact of having a choice" (12c., Modern French choix), from verb choisir "to choose, distinguish, discern; recognize, perceive, see," from a Germanic source related to Old English ceosan "to choose, taste, try;" see choose. Late Old English chis "fastidious, choosy," from or related to ceosan, probably also contributed to the development of choice. Replaced Old English cyre "choice, free will," from the same base, probably because the imported word was closer to choose [see note in OED].

Show More

choice

adj.

"worthy to be chosen, distinguished, excellent," mid-14c., from choice (n.). Related: Choiceness.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with choicest

choice

see by choice; Hobson's choice; of choice; pays your money and takes your choice. Also see under choose.

Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.