How do you pronounce best?

The recorded pronunciation is /bɛst/.

Where does best come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

best

/bɛst/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.84 in modern English

Syllables: best
IPA: /bɛst/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

superlative form of good: most good.

adj

Most; largest.

adj

Most superior; most favorable.

adv

superlative form of well: most well

adv

To the most advantage; with the most success, cause, profit, benefit, or propriety.

noun

The supreme effort one can make, or has made.

Uncountable

noun

One's best behavior.

Uncountable

noun

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

Countable

Example Sentences

"I can either be your best friend or your worst enemy."
"[…] when he is beſt, he is a little worſe then a man, and when he is worſt, he is little better than a beaſt:"
"Heav'ns laſt beſt gift, my ever new delight,"
"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"
"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."
"There's no common goal There's no common feeling To have the best house in the worst city"

Etymology

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”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: best, bezt, *batistaz, Beste

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /bɛst/
British English: /bɛst/

Usage

Inflected Forms

bester (comparative, humorous) bestest (humorous, nonstandard) bests (plural) bests (present, singular) besting (participle, present) bested (participle, past) bested (past) no-table-tags (table tags) glossary (inflection template) bested (first person, past) bested (past, second person) bested (past, singular)

Derived Forms

alderbest bester bestest bestness bestseller bestshoring outbest unbested

Phrases

accidents will happen in the best regulated families as best as one can at best 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

Frequently Paired Words

best off good excellent better bestest

Synonyms

optimal 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

Antonyms

worst baddest

Rhymes With

west rest test request suggest guest arrest chest expressed dressed breast impressed

best

Meaning

Example Sentences

Etymology

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Antonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How to pronounce best