best friend
Americannoun
-
a person’s closest or most cherished friend.
Sheila has been my best friend since we were seven.
- Synonyms:
- bosom friend, bosom buddy, bff, bf, bestie
-
something that a person particularly depends on or has a special affection for.
A purple, stuffed armadillo was my best friend and companion through my whole childhood.
-
something considered or suggested to be particularly useful or valuable.
When it comes to saving for retirement, compound interest is your new best friend.
Your local piano tuner could be your best friend when buying a piano.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of best friend
First recorded before 1000
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.
It's not the first time the cattle-farming politician has fallen foul of man's best friend -- he once threatened to kill Johnny Depp's dogs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
"It's kind of like going with a best friend but he's my brother and we can spend even more time together," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
We and our two sons had been the closest of families, their father their best friend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The name is a nod to the best friend and literary collaborator of Cicero, the Roman statesman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
“Zora got you again, huh?” my best friend, Ruby, asks as she walks up to me.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
