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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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”; see favor, -ite 2
Explanation
Your favorite is what you like best. Your room is probably painted your favorite color, and the folders you carry to school are probably that color too. In a competition, the favorite is the one considered likely to win. If you bet on the favorite in a horse race, you're betting on the horse lots of other people think will win. The opposite of the favorite is the dark horse, or the underdog, or the long shot. You may have a favorite recipe, a favorite Web site, a favorite pastime, a favorite anything.
Vocabulary lists containing favorite
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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"Crittercam to the Rescue"
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"I Remember"
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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.
See Examples For:
For two years, the power trade was the stock market’s favorite way to own the AI boom without paying Nvidia-sized multiples.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
It has a major presence at Comic-Con, both with panels devoted to the series and the many fans who roam the halls dressed as their favorite characters.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Now may not be the time to whip up your favorite cold salads or overload on the “L” in your BLTs.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
The overwhelming favorite in Las Vegas to win the championship when the season began, the Lakers finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
A favorite Broadway actress sang “The Rochester Knockings at Barnum’s Hotel,” and Mysterious Knockings, “a new farce full of glorious fun and frolic,” played at a popular theater.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
The Rams being Super Bowl title favorites makes the decision all the more obvious for Donald.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
He even thinks the tech could get people to reread old favorites: "Now is the time to maybe dive into areas where it was really hard to do in the past."
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
All these years later the story is still one of my favorites – as resplendent as it was the first time, and more necessary than ever.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
Goldman Sachs’ basket of retail favorites, for the first time since early May, is now underperforming the S&P 500 over 52 weeks.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The episodes where the contestants had to make “dessert impostors”—desserts that looked like savory foods—were always my favorites.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
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.
