best

See also: Best

English

WOTD – 27 August 2010

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛst/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛst

Etymology 1

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

Adjective

best (comparative better or (nonstandard, humorous) bester, superlative (nonstandard, humorous) bestest)

1. superlative form of good: most good.

   I can either be your best friend or your worst enemy.

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 163, column 1:

     […] when he is beſt, he is a little worſe then a man, and when he is worſt, he is little better than a beaſt:

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, line 19:

     Heav'ns laſt beſt gift, my ever new delight,

   • 2011 October 7, Lana Del Rey, Justin Parker (lyrics and music), “Video Games”, in Born to Die, performed by Lana Del Rey:

     Swinging in the backyard
     Pull up in your fast car whistling my name
     Open up a beer
     And you say get over here and play a video game
     […]
     I say you the bestest
     Lean in for a big kiss, put his favorite perfume on
     Go play your video game

   • 2013 August 10, Schumpeter, “Cronies and capitols”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

     Policing the relationship between government and business in a free society is difficult. […] Governments have to find the best people to fill important jobs: there is a limited supply of people who understand the financial system, for example. But governments must also remember that businesses are self-interested actors who will try to rig the system for their own benefit.

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.

Usage notes

• The comparative gooder and superlative goodest derived from the positive good are nonstandard. In informal (often jocular) contexts, best may be inflected further and given the comparative bester and the superlative bestest; these forms are also nonstandard.

Antonyms

• worst
• baddest (nonstandard)

Derived terms

• accidents will happen in the best regulated families
• alderbest
• as best as one can
• at one's best
• attack is the best form of defence
• attack is the best form of defense
• at the best
• at the best of times
• best and fairest
• best ball
• best before date
• best-before date
• best bet
• best bib and tucker
• best bitter
• best bower
• best boy
• best-by date
• best-case
• best case scenario
• best-case scenario
• best efforts
• bester
• bestest
• best evidence rule
• best form lens
• best friend
• best friend forever
• best gal
• best girl
• best-kept secret
• Best Korea
• best laid plans
• best maid
• best man
• bestness
• best-of
• best of
• best of both worlds
• best of breed
• best of British
• best off
• best of luck
• best of the bunch
• best on ground
• best parlour
• best part of
• best pleased
• best practice
• best regards
• best-seller
• bestseller
• best-selling
• bestshoring
• best thing since sliced bread
• best thing since sliced pan
• best wishes
• come off second best
• 'd best
• diamonds are a girl's best friend
• do one's best
• experience is the best teacher
• failure is the best teacher
• first best
• for best
• for the best
• give it one's best shot
• have the best of it
• he laughs best that laughs last
• he who laughs last laughs best
• honesty is the best policy
• hunger is the best sauce
• hunger is the best spice
• inference to the best explanation
• it happens to the best of us
• laughter is the best medicine
• level best
• line of best fit
• live one's best life
• look one's best
• make the best of a bad bargain
• make the best of a bad job
• make the best of one's way
• man's best friend
• outbest
• personal best
• put one's best foot foremost
• put one's best foot forward
• revenge is a dish best served cold
• second best
• six of the best
• sum of best
• Sunday-best
• Sunday best
• sunlight is the best disinfectant
• take one's best shot
• the best defence is attack
• the best defense is a good offense
• the best is the enemy of the good
• the best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray
• the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry
• the best things in life are free
• third best
• to the best of one's knowledge
• wife's best friend
• with the best
• with the best of them
• with the best will in the world
• work best under pressure

 

Translations

superlative of the adjective good

• Arabic: أَفْضَل m (ʔafḍal)
• Czech: nejlepší (cs)
• French: meilleur (fr) m, meilleure (fr) f
• German: Beste (de) n
• Greek: καλύτερος (el) m (kalýteros)
• Hebrew: מֵיטָב (he) m (meytáv)
• Hindi: श्रेष्ठ (hi) (śreṣṭh)
• Hungarian: legjobb (hu)
• Icelandic: best
• Italian: migliore (it)
• Japanese: 一番 (ja) (ichiban)
• Korean: 최선 (ko) (choeseon)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: baştirîn (ku)

• Latin: optimus (la)
• Malay: terbaik (ms)
• Maori: pai rawa atu
• Polish: najlepszy (pl)
• Portuguese: melhor (pt)
• Russian: лу́чший (ru) (lúčšij), наилу́чший (ru) (nailúčšij)
• Samoan: sili
• Sanskrit: श्रेष्ठ (sa) (śreṣṭha), वसिष्ठ (sa) (vasiṣṭha)
• Spanish: mejor (es)
• Tamil: சிறந்த (ciṟanta), மிகச்சிறந்த (mikacciṟanta)
• Thai: ดีที่สุด (tiisiisut)
• Ukrainian: найкращий (najkraščyj), найлі́пший (najlípšyj)

Adverb

best

1. superlative form of well: most well

   A popular aphorism says it best: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 867–869:

     Out of my ſight, thou Serpent, that name beſt
     Befits thee with him leagu'd, thy ſelf as falſe
     And hateful;

   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 65, line 1072:

     But had we beſt retire, I ſee a ſtorm?

   • 1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLC:

     He prayeth best, who loveth best / All things both great and small.

   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.

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.

   • 1854, Arthur Pendennis [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family, volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], →OCLC:

     Had I not best go to her?

Translations

superlative of the adverb well

• French: mieux (fr)
• German: am besten
• Hungarian: legjobban (hu)
• Italian: meglio (it)
• Japanese: 最もうまく (もっともうまく)
• Korean: 가장 잘 (gajang jal)
• Latin: optime (la)
• Portuguese: melhor (pt)
• Sardinian: méglius
• Spanish: mejor (es)
• Swedish: bäst (sv)
• Tagalog: pinakamahusay, pinakamagaling

See also

• best off (adj)

 

Noun

best (countable and uncountable, plural bests)

1. (uncountable) The supreme effort one can make, or has made.

   I did my best.

   My personal best in that race is eighteen minutes, four seconds.

   • 2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Home defender Per Mertesacker had to be at his best to stop a dangerous cross from Vassilis Torossidis reaching Djebbour, but moments later Arsenal doubled their lead through Santos.

2. (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) The person (or persons; or thing or things) that is (are) most excellent.

   Even the best of us makes mistakes.

   We're the best of friends.

   I love it so much! It's the best.

   • 1994, Otis L. Guernsey, Jeffrey Sweet, The Best Plays of 1993-1994, page vii:

     Mel Gussow reviews the bests of off off Broadway

   • 1995 October, Cincinnati Magazine, page 5:

     But in true Cincinnati style, the bests consistently outnumber the worsts.

   • 2011, G. Edward Evans, Sheila S. Intner, Jean Riddle Weihs, Introduction to Technical Services, page 149:

     There are the bests for each institution, the bests for coalitions, and, of course, the bests for the group as a whole.

   • 2013, Jesse Jose, Collections Of My Best And Most-Hated, "A Cup O' Kapeng Barako" Writings, page 209:

     If he's one of the bests, he should be fighting the bests, NOT the pipitsugins.

Derived terms

• first best
• level best
• personal best

Translations

effort

• Finnish: paras (fi), parhain (fi)
• French: mieux (fr) m
• German: Bestes (de) n
• Hungarian: minden tőle telhetőt megtesz, kitesz magáért
• Irish: dícheall m
• Japanese: ベスト (ja) (besuto)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: baştirîn (ku)

• Norwegian: beste (no)
• Russian: всё возмо́жное n (vsjo vozmóžnoje), лу́чший (ru) (lúčšij)
• Slovak: vrchol, maximum
• Swedish: bästa (sv)
• Turkish: en iyisi

person

• Finnish: paras (fi), parhain (fi), parhaimmisto (fi)
• French: élite (fr), fleur (fr), crème (fr), dessus du panier (fr), meilleur (fr)
• Friulian: miôr
• Galician: elite f
• German: Bester (de) m, Beste (de) f
• Italian: migliore (it)
• Norwegian: best (no)
• Portuguese: melhor (pt) m
• Russian: лу́чший (ru) m (lúčšij)
• Spanish: élite (es), flor (es), nata (es)
• Swedish: bästa (sv), bäste (sv)
• Turkish: en iyisi

Verb

best (third-person singular simple present bests, present participle besting, simple past and past participle bested)

1. (transitive) To surpass in skill or achievement.
2. (transitive) To beat in a contest.
   • 1944 July and August, Charles E. Lee, “The "City of Truro"”, in Railway Magazine, pages 201–202:

     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 by the Kaiser Wilhelm II, a larger vessel of the same line, in 1903, and that stood as the record until the Cunard Line secured the honours in 1909 with the Mauretania and held them for an unbroken period of 20 years.

   • 2010, T. William Phillips, Restless Heart, page 16:

     "You did not win because I was sloppy. You bested me, Uncle. I've never seen you fight like that before.”

Conjugation

Conjugation of best

infinitive	(to) best
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	best	bested
2nd-person singular
3rd-person singular	bests
plural	best
subjunctive	best	bested
imperative	best	—
participles	besting	bested

Antonyms

• worst

Derived terms

• unbested

 

Translations

to beat

• Bulgarian: вземам връх над (vzemam vrǎh nad)
• Czech: porazit (cs)
• Dutch: slaan (nl), overmeesteren (nl), verslaan (nl), overwinnen (nl)
• Finnish: päihittää (fi)
• French: battre (fr), vaincre (fr), surpasser (fr), enfoncer (fr), écraser (fr), aplatir (fr), dominer (fr), défaire (fr)
• German: übertreffen (de), besiegen (de), schlagen (de), überlegen sein
• Italian: superare (it), dominare (it), vincere (it), battere (it)
• Maori: tārū
• Norwegian: slå (no)
• Russian: превзойти́ (ru) pf (prevzojtí), победи́ть (ru) pf (pobedítʹ)
• Slovak: poraziť
• Spanish: sobrepasar (es), superar (es), vencer (es), rebasar (es), derrotar (es), aventajar (es)
• Swedish: besegra (sv)
• Turkish: aşmak (tr), geçmek (tr)

Related terms

• better
• bestest

Derived terms

• all for the best
• all the best
• as best one can
• at best
• best of the best
• for one's best
• get the best of
• had best
• have the best of
• make the best of
• the best part of
• with the best (of them)

 

Etymology 2

Shortening of had best

Verb

best

1. (modal verb, colloquial) Had best.

   It's getting late. You best get on home.

   • 1935, Edward Joseph O'Brien, John Cournos, editors, The Best British Short Stories of 1935, page 37:

     'We best be going,' she said, looking at the clock.

   • 2010, Mary B. Morrison, Somebody's Gotta Be On Top:

     Brother, you best be gone when I return.

Usage notes

• Although it is sometimes considered an adverb, best is virtually synonymous with should in We best be going. and ought to We best go.. Should and ought are auxiliary verbs.

References

• “best”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “best”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• BTEs, Bets, bets

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛst/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: best
• Rhymes: -ɛst
• Homophone: Best

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch best, from Old Dutch *betst, from Proto-Germanic *batistaz, superlative of *gōdaz. Compare Low German best, English best, West Frisian best, German besten, Danish bedst.

Adjective

best

1. superlative degree of goed; best.
2. fine, okay

   Mag ik buiten spelen? — Ik vind het best, als je maar voor het eten weer thuis bent.

   May I go and play outside? — It's fine with me, as long as you're back home again before dinner.

3. dear, venerable (in a polite address)

   Beste Piet, wij danken je voor 40 jaar trouwe dienst.

   Dear Piet, we thank you for 40 years of loyal service.

Inflection

• (definite inflected form): beste

Synonyms

• (fine): prima

Descendants

• Afrikaans: beste
• Berbice Creole Dutch: besti
• Negerhollands: bes, best
• →? Sranan Tongo: besi

Adverb

best

1. quite, rather

   Dat zou best kunnen.

   It's quite possible.

Etymology 2

Noun

best f (plural besten, diminutive bestje n)

1. (dated, chiefly diminutive) Alternative form of bes (“old woman”).

Masurian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish bez.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛst/
• Rhymes: -ɛst
• Syllabification: best

Noun

best m inan (related adjective bestowi)

1. elder (bush of genus Sambucus)
2. lilac (bush of genus Syringa)

Further reading

• Zofia Stamirowska (1987-2024) “I. bez”, in Anna Basara, editor, Słownik gwar Ostródzkiego, Warmii i Mazur‎^[2], volume 1, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk, →ISBN, page 165
• Günter Donder (2011) “+”, in Kleines masurisches Wörterbuch mit Lesestücken und einen Tonträger‎^[3] (in German), archived from the original on 10/12/2023, page 11

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *betst, from Proto-Germanic *batistaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /best/

Adjective

best

1. best; superlative degree of goet

Adverb

best

1. best; superlative degree of wel

Descendants

• Dutch: best
  • Afrikaans: beste
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: besti
  • Negerhollands: bes, best
  • →? Sranan Tongo: besi
• Limburgish: bès

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English betst, betest.

Adjective

best

1. Alternative form of beste

Adverb

best

1. Alternative form of beste

Etymology 2

From Old French beste.

Noun

best

1. Alternative form of beeste

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse beztr.

Adjective

best

1. indefinite singular superlative degree of god: best
2. indefinite singular superlative degree of bra: best

Derived terms

• bestselger
• bestselgende

References

• “best” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse beztr.

Adjective

best

1. indefinite singular superlative degree of god: best
2. indefinite singular superlative degree of bra

References

• “best” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• betst

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *batistaz.

Adverb

best

1. best

Descendants

• Low German: best

Plautdietsch

Verb

best

1. second-person singular present of sennen

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English best.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛst͡ʃ/, /ˈbɛs.t͡ʃi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛst͡ʃ/, /ˈbɛs.t͡ʃi/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛʃt͡ʃ/, /ˈbɛʃ.t͡ʃi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛst͡ʃ/

Noun

best m or f by sense (invariable)

1. (Brazil, chiefly Internet slang) bestie

   Synonym: BFF

Further reading

• “best” in Dicionário inFormal.

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bɛst]

Adjective

best

1. superlative degree of guid

Derived terms

• ill-best (“best of a bad lot, best of a poor selection”)

Noun

best (plural bests)

1. groomsman

Swedish

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin bēstia.

Pronunciation

• Homophone: bäst

Noun

best c

1. beast

Declension

Declension of best
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	best	besten	bestar	bestarna
Genitive	bests	bestens	bestars	bestarnas

Anagrams

• bets