best

A1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈbɛst/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like based /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/ Sounds like vest /v/ vs /b/

Freq #253

Meanings

1

adj
Of the highest quality; better than all others.

It was the best film of the year.
2

adv
In the most excellent way; better than anything else.

This is the dish she cooks best.
3

noun
The greatest effort that someone can make.

They tried hard and did their best.
4

verb
To defeat or do better than someone.

Our team managed to best the champions.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

4 verb · to defeat or do better than... outdo outflank trump

More bollocksoptimal

Opposites

baddestworst

Word family

Forms bestedbestingbests

Derived forms alderbestbest-casebest-ofbest-paidbest-sellerbest-sellingbesterbestestbestnessbestsellerbestshoringoutbest

Related forms bestestbetter excellent good

From Middle English best, beste, from Old English betst, 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, Norwegian Nynorsk best (“best”), Swedish bäst (“best”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (batists, “best”).

best Middle English betst Old English *batistaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# best

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj, adv, noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɛst/
**Frequency rank:** 253

## Meanings
1. Of the highest quality; better than all others.
2. In the most excellent way; better than anything else.
3. The greatest effort that someone can make.
4. To defeat or do better than someone.

## Examples
- It was the best film of the year.
- This is the dish she cooks best.
- They tried hard and did their best.
- Our team managed to best the champions.

## Synonyms
- bollocks
- optimal

## Antonyms
- baddest
- worst

## Derived Forms
- alderbest
- best-case
- best-of
- best-paid
- best-seller
- best-selling
- bester
- bestest
- bestness
- bestseller
- bestshoring
- outbest

## Related Forms
- bestest
- better
- excellent
- good

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: best
- Root: betst
- Root: *batistaz

## Etymology
From Middle English best, beste, from Old English betst, 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, Norwegian Nynorsk best (“best”), Swedish bäst (“best”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (batists, “best”).

## AI Etymology
Best comes from Middle English best, beste, from Old English betst, betest, from Proto-Germanic *batistaz. 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, Norwegian Nynorsk best (“best”), Swedish bäst (“best”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (batists, “best”).

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown

best

Meanings

Thesaurus

Common collocations

Etymology

Topics

External links

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback