best

See also: Best

English

WOTD – 27 August 2010

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

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• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛst

Adjective

best (positive good, adverb well, comparative better, superlative (humorous) bestest)

1. superlative form of good: most good.

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

   • 1600, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice:

     When he is best, he is a little worse than a man.

   • 1676, Paradise Lost:

     John Milton

     Heaven's last, best gift

   • 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.

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

• baddest (nonstandard)
• worst

Derived terms

• bestness
• bester, bestest

Translations

superlative of the adjective good

• Afrikaans: beste (af)
• Albanian: më i (sq) miri
• Arabic: (اَلـ‎ (ar) (al--) +) أَفْضَل‎ (ʾafḍal), (اَلـ‎ (ar) (al--) +) أَحْسَن‎ (ʾaḥsan)
• Armenian: ամենալավ (amenalav), լավագույն (lavaguyn)
• Asturian: el meyor
• Belarusian: найле́пшы (najljépšy)
• Bulgarian: най-добър (naj-dobǎr)
• Catalan: el millor (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 最好 (zeoi³ hou²)

  Mandarin: 最好 (zh) (zuìhǎo)

• Cornish: gwella
• Czech: nejlepší (cs)
• Danish: bedst
• Dutch: best (nl)
• Estonian: parim pl
• Finnish: paras (fi)
• French: (+ le) meilleur (fr)
• Friulian: il miôr
• Galician: o mellor m
• Georgian: საუკეთესო (sauḳeteso)
• German: (+ der, die, das) beste (de), bester (de)
• Greek: ο καλύτερος (o kalýteros), άριστος (el) (áristos), βέλτιστος (el) (véltistos)

  Ancient Greek: βέλτιστος (béltistos), ἄριστος (áristos)

• Hungarian: legjobb (hu)
• Icelandic: bestur
• Ido: maxim bona (io)
• Interlingue: max bon, optim
• Irish: is fearr
• Italian: il migliore (it)
• Japanese: 最高の (ja) (saikō no), 最良の (ja) (sairyō no), 一番の (ja) (ichiban), ベスト (ja) (besuto)

• Kabuverdianu: nhaku
• Khmer: ល្អបំផុត (l’ɑɑ bɑmpʰot)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: optimus (la)
• Macedonian: најдобар (najdobar)
• Malay: terbaik, terbagus, paling baik, paling bagus
• Manx: bare, share
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Nepali: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: best (no)
• Persian: بهترین‎ (fa) (behtarin)
• Polish: najlepszy (pl)
• Portuguese: o melhor (pt)
• Russian: лу́чший (ru) (lúčšij), наилу́чший (ru) (nailúčšij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: најбољи

  Roman: najbolji (sh)

• Slovak: najlepší
• Spanish: el mejor (es)
• Swedish: bäst (sv)
• Tagalog: pinakamabuti
• Thai: ดีที่สุด
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: en iyi
• Ukrainian: найкра́щий (najkráščyj), найлі́пший (najlípšyj)
• Vietnamese: tốt nhất
• Welsh: gorau
• White Hmong: please add this translation if you can
• Yup'ik: assinrulria
• Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

Adverb

best

1. superlative form of well: most well
   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     Thou serpent! That name best befits thee.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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

   • 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 24962326:

     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.
   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     Had we best retire? I see a storm.

   • (Can we date this quote?) William Makepeace Thackeray

     Had I not best go to her?

3. (colloquial shortening) Had best.

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

Translations

superlative of the adverb well

• Arabic: أَفْضَل‎ (ʾafḍal), أَحْسَن‎ (ʾaḥsan)
• Armenian: ամենալավ (amenalav)
• Belarusian: найле́пш (najljépš), найле́пей (najljépjej)
• Bulgarian: най-добре (naj-dobre)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 最好 (zh) (zuìhǎo)

• Czech: nejlépe (cs)
• Finnish: parhaiten
• French: (+ le) mieux (fr)
• Georgian: გადასარევად (gadasarevad)
• German: beste (de), am besten (de)
• Greek: άριστα (el) (árista), κάλλιστα (el) (kállista)

  Ancient Greek: ἄριστα (árista)

• Japanese: 最高 (ja) (saikō)
• Latin: optime (la)

• Macedonian: најдобар (najdobar)
• Norwegian: best (no)
• Persian: بهترین‎ (fa) (behtarin), بهشت‎ (fa) (behešt)
• Polish: najlepiej
• Portuguese: melhor (pt)
• Russian: лу́чше всего́ (lúčše vsevó), лу́чше всех (lúčše vsex)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: nȃjbolje (sh)

• Slovak: najlepšie
• Spanish: mejor (es) m
• Swedish: bäst (sv)
• Thai: ที่ดีที่สุด
• Turkish: en iyi
• Ukrainian: найкра́ще (najkrášče), найлі́пше (najlípše)

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

     Mel Gussow reviews the bests of off off Broadway

   • 1995 October, Cincinnati Magazine, [2]:

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

   • 2011, G. Edward Evans, Sheila S. Intner, and 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.

Translations

effort

• Finnish: paras (fi), parhain (fi)
• French: mieux (fr) m
• German: Bestes n
• Irish: dícheall m
• Japanese: ベスト (ja) (besuto)

• Norwegian: beste (no)
• Russian: всё возмо́жное n (vsjó vozmóžnoje)
• 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, meilleur (fr)
• Friulian: miôr
• Galician: elite f
• German: Bester m, Beste f
• Italian: migliore (it)

• Norwegian: best (no)
• Portuguese: melhor (pt) m
• Russian: лу́чший (ru) m (lúčšij)
• Spanish: élite, 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. To surpass in skill or achievement.
2. (transitive) To beat in a contest
   • 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.”

Antonyms

• worst

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)
• 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

 

Anagrams

• BTEs, Bets, bets

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛst/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: best
• Rhymes: -ɛst

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 form 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.

Inflection

• (definite inflected form): beste

Synonyms

• (fine): prima

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”).

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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

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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

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse beztr

Adjective

best

1. indefinite superlative degree of god
2. indefinite superlative degree of bra

best (indefinite singular best, definite singular and plural beste)

1. best

Derived terms

• bestselger
• bestselgende

References

• “best” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse beztr

Adjective

best

1. indefinite superlative degree of god
2. indefinite superlative degree of bra

best (indefinite singular best, definite singular and plural beste)

1. best

References

• “best” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• betst

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *batistaz.

Adverb

best

1. best

Descendants

• Low German: best

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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

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Swedish

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