best

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbɛst/ UK /bɛst/ 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.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

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

Appears in

Phrases (3)

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Idioms (2)

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Proverbs (57)

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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”).

best Middle English betst Old English *batistaz Proto-Germanic

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Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# best

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj, adv, noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɛst/
**IPA (UK):** /bɛst/
**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
- Describing Qualities

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best

Meanings

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Appears in

Phrases (3)

Idioms (2)

Proverbs (57)

Etymology

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