choice

[chois]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR choice ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

the right, power, or opportunity to choose; option: The child had no choice about going to school.

the person or thing chosen or eligible to be chosen: This book is my choice. He is one of many choices for the award.

an alternative: There is another choice.

an abundance or variety from which to choose: a wide choice of candidates.

something that is preferred or preferable to others; the best part of something: Mare's Nest is the choice in the sixth race.

a carefully selected supply: This restaurant has a fine choice of wines.

a choice grade of beef.

adjective, choic·er, choic·est.

worthy of being chosen; excellent; superior.

carefully selected: choice words.

(in the grading of beef in the U.S.) rated between prime and good.

Idioms

of choice, that is generally preferred: A detached house is still the home of choice.

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 for choice

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR choice 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. 2019

Related Words for choicest

prime, preferred, excellent, elect, prize, exclusive, fine, winner, valuable, elite, special, nice, 10, exceptional, exquisite, first-class, popular, precious, preferential, rare

Examples from the Web for choicest

Contemporary Examples of choicest

Still another teased out the choicest bits from a new e-book Spitzer just published on how to police Wall Street.
New York Post Looks Thinner After News Corporation Split
David Freedlander
July 18, 2013
He ate only the choicest foods and loved the fatty cut of tuna known as toro.
The Way to Understand Kim Jong-il Was Through His Stomach
Barbara Demick
December 19, 2011

Historical Examples of choicest

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.
Southern Lights and Shadows
Various
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.
Once to Every Man
Larry Evans

British Dictionary definitions for choicest

choice

noun

the act or an instance of choosing or selecting

the opportunity or power of choosing

a person or thing chosen or that may be chosenhe was a possible choice

an alternative action or possibilitywhat choice did I have?

a supply from which to selecta poor choice of shoes

of choice preferred; favourite

adjective

of superior quality; excellentchoice wine

carefully chosen, appropriatea few choice words will do the trick

vulgar or rudechoice language

Derived Formschoicely, adverbchoiceness, noun

Word Origin for choice

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

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].

choice

adj.

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

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.