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Best

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best¹

  • /bɛst/ US, UK
  • /best/ Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɛst

Where it comes from

From Middle English best, beste, from Old English bezt, betest, from Proto-Germanic *batistaz.

Cognates

Cognate with Scots best (“best”), Cimbrian peste, péste (“best”), Dutch best (“best”), German beste (“best”), Yiddish בעסט (best, “best”), Danish bedst (“best”), Faroese bestur (“best”), Icelandic bestur, beztur (“best”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk best (“best”), Swedish bäst (“best”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (batists, “best”).

adjective bester · bestest

  1. superlative superlative form of good: most good.good I can either be your best friend or your worst enemy.
  2. Most; largest. Unpacking took the best part of a week.
  3. Most superior; most favorable. In my opinion, mushrooms are the best pizza toppings.

Similar: optimal

adverb

  1. superlative superlative form of well: most well A popular aphorism says it best: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
  2. To the most advantage; with the most success, cause, profit, benefit, or propriety. You'd best save a backup copy, just in case the morons lose the one that you sent and then try to act like you never sent one.

noun bests

  1. often, uncountable The supreme effort one can make, or has made. I did my best.
  2. often, uncountable One's best behavior. I was somewhat distant lately, and my lady promised me head every Tuesday of the week when I’m nice to her, so I better be on my best.
  3. countable, often The person (or persons; or thing or things) that is (are) most excellent. Even the best of us makes mistakes, but only a few with the best of intentions...

Similar: all that and a bag of chips, antelope's cantaloupes, ant's pants, bee's knees, bollocks, cat's ass, cat's meow, cat's pajamas, cat's pyjamas, cat's whiskers, cream of the crop, crème de la crème

verb bests · besting · bested · best

  1. transitive To surpass in skill or achievement.
  2. transitive To beat in a contest. The Norddeutscher Lloyd steamship Kronprinz Wilhelm left New York on May 3 [1904], at 3.10 p.m. and reached Plymouth Sound on May 9 at 8 a.m. This was then a very fast crossing of the Atlantic, but it was not the record. The same ship had held the "Blue Riband" in 1902, but had been slightly bested

best²

  • /bɛst/ US, UK
  • /best/ Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɛst

Where it comes from

Shortening of had best

verb

  1. colloquial, modal Had best. It's getting late. You best get on home.

Best³

  • /bɛst/

Rhymes with -ɛst

Where it comes from

From German Beste (“a river in Germany”) or from Anglo-Norman beste (“beast”).

proper noun Bests

  1. countable, uncountable A surname. Dyshan Best, 39, was shot in the back last year as he fled from officers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A report released this week by the state’s inspector general found that the shooting was justified because Best had a gun in his hand and the officer pursuing him had reasons to fear for his own safe
  2. countable, uncountable A village and municipality in North Brabant province, Netherlands.

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