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Synonyms

favorite son

American  

noun

U.S. Politics.

  1. (at a national political convention) a candidate nominated for office by delegates from the candidate's own state.

favorite son British  

noun

  1. (in the US) a politician popular in his home state but little admired beyond it

"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
favorite son Cultural  

  1. A political figure nominated for the presidency by his or her state's delegation to the national nominating convention of a major party. Favorite sons are rarely serious candidates for the party's nomination. By nominating a favorite son, the delegation honors its nominee while delaying its commitment until the more serious contenders for the nomination can be sorted out.

favorite son Idioms  

  1. A person valued by his or her hometown or organization for his or her achievements, usually political, as in Mary hoped they would treat her as a favorite son and nominate her for state senator. This term was originally employed for a candidate nominated for office by his own locality. Today this usage may ignore gender, as in the example. [c. 1780]

Etymology

Origin of favorite son

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

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.

Business has been terrible this year, Green added, even during “Elvis Week,” the annual celebration of the city’s favorite son.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025

Vance’s position, or at least the position he wants to present to the American public, is that of the favorite son who stands ready to step into the father’s shoes.

From Slate • Oct. 1, 2024

Brady long ago cemented his place as the Patriots’ favorite son, even before he won the last of his six Super Bowl rings with the team after the 2018 season.

From Washington Times • Sep. 8, 2023

Messi is literally larger than life in Rosario, where a 226-foot fresco, the largest of many murals of the city’s favorite son, was painted on the side of a downtown apartment building.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2022

But his mother had begged her favorite son to go so he could look after his father.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.