favorite
Americannoun
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a person or thing regarded with special favor or preference.
That song is an old favorite of mine.
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Sports. a competitor considered likely to win.
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a person or thing popular with the public.
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a person treated with special or undue favor by a king, official, etc..
favorites at the court.
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Digital Technology. bookmark.
adjective
Usage
Spelling tips for favorite The word favorite is hard to spell for two reasons. First, in British English it is spelled with a u (favourite), unlike the American English spelling favorite. Second, the final e is silent.How to spell favorite: When you do someone a favor, you don't do it for yourself. So, there is no u in favor. Now that we have the beginning of the word down, how do we remember the e in -ite? Well, it wouldn't be anything without an Ending (an e at the end). Put the two together and you get favorite.
Other Word Forms
- nonfavorite noun
- prefavorite noun
- unfavorite adjective
Etymology
Origin of favorite
First recorded in 1575–85; from Middle French, from Italian favorito, “favored,” past participle of favorire “to favor, support,” from favore “favor, goodwill”; favor, -ite 2
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.
Luxury stocks used to be a favorite way for investors to get exposure to the country’s then-booming middle class.
In going over this year’s crop of standouts, we took turns casting back to our favorite memories of a festival now in transition.
From Los Angeles Times
She was a favorite in the downhill, where she leads the World Cup season standings, and in the alpine combined event, where two teammates add their finishing scores for one result.
She also says her favorite singer is Michael Jackson.
From Barron's
“She was there. I covered her with her favorite blanket.”
From Literature
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.
