best1 adjectivebest2 adverbbest3 nounbest4 verb
bestbest1 /best/ ●●● S1 W1 adjective [superlative of good] 
WORD ORIGINbest1
Origin:
Old English betstEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I've read most of his books, but 'Mosquito Coast' is easily his best.
- It was by far the best vacation I've ever had.
- Probably the best thing to do is to drop me off outside.
- Terry is the best player on our team.
- The best ice cream in the world is made in Italy.
- What's the best way to cook sweet potatoes?
- What's the best way to get to El Paso?
- And the best way to cross the bridge is neither by bus nor car but by foot.
- Front forces, in particular, lost a very high percentage of their best men in 1968.
- He had built a big new house in the valley, beside the best clay for making good hard bricks.
- In 1972 he had suggested independence as Ulster's best course and been severely criticized by Paisley and others.
- Risking everything, Saskia auditions for the position of best friend with a dazzling burst of literary fantasies.
- This is a 19-inch device and is the best in the group on picture quality alone.
Longman Language Activatorbetter than all others
better than anything or anyone else: · The best ice cream in the world is made in Italy.· What's the best way to cook sweet potatoes?by far the best/easily the best (=much better than any others): · It was by far the best vacation I've ever had.somebody's best: · I've read most of his books, but 'Mosquito Coast' is easily his best.
the best and most important that there has ever been: · New Yorkers think they live in the greatest city on earth.· Picasso is generally regarded as the greatest artist of the 20th century.· Gorbachev's greatest achievement was ending the Cold War.
the best and highest quality, or the best and most skilful: · Hemingway was the finest American writer of his generation.· The Silver Pavilion is one of the finest examples of Japanese architecture.· Many people regard Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as his finest work.· The gallery's collection of early Impressionist paintings is one of the world's finest.
the best and most suitable: · The ideal candidate will have a degree and at least two years' experience.· I'm afraid the accommodation here is far from ideal.ideal for: · The conditions are ideal for a day's skiing.ideal for doing something: · The town makes an ideal base for exploring the surrounding countryside.
the most skilful, most successful, and most famous: · He is definitely one of the world's top golfers.· The prize is to have your hair done at a top New York salon.
the person who is most successful in their company or in the type of work that they do: · For three years, he was the company's number one salesman.· Sweden's number one model has married American actor Tommy Haines.
: the place/shop/person/authority etc use this to say that something is the best one of its kind. Pronounce it as 'thee' instead of 'thuh': · Manhattan's East Village is the place for exciting nightlife.· Our guest speaker today is the authority on Chinese politics.
the ultimate person or thing is the very best of their type that there has ever been, and it is hard to believe that anything could ever be better: · Monroe was the ultimate Hollywood movie star.· For many people, the Rolling Stones will always be the world's ultimate rock and roll band.the ultimate in: · Our first-class passengers enjoy the ultimate in luxury and service.
the best that can be achieved or the best for a particular purpose - used especially in scientific contexts: · The optimum temperature for producing steel is around 1200C.
the definitive description, study etc is considered to be the best and cannot be improved - use this about a book or piece of work that is the best of its kind: · Griffin is the author of the definitive travel guide 'France at Your Fingertips'.· This may be the definitive book on the Scarlatti trial.· Many people regard it as the definitive interpretation of 'War and Peace'.
formal if something is unsurpassed , nothing else has ever been better - use this about qualities or achievements: · His genius as a dramatist is unsurpassed.· Venice is a city of unsurpassed beauty.
: a record-breaking result, temperature, time etc is the highest, largest, fastest etc that has ever been achieved: · A record-breaking five hundred thousand people attended the festival. · Record-breaking temperatures are being forecast for the weekend.
the best people or things in a group · She was the best in her class at college.· I chose a Japanese camera because I wanted to have the best.the best in his/her field (=the person who knows most about a particular subject) · When it comes to cancer research, Professor Williams is probably the best in her field.
the best player in a team, the best student in a class etc: · Sonya's the class star.star of: · They're all strong players, but Laura's undoubtedly the star of the team.star player/performer/student/pupil etc: · Woodward continues to be the Post's star reporter.
the small number of people who are the very best in a particular group, because they are the most intelligent or the most highly skilled: · The cream of India's scientists are being attracted abroad by highly paid jobs.the cream of the crop (=the best people or things in a particular group): · Universities such as Harvard accept only the cream of the crop.
: elite troops/group/college etc a group of people who are the best, and most highly trained or educated: · The palace is guarded by elite troops loyal to the president.· In 1978 he joined the CRS, France's elite corps of riot police.
also the pick of the bunch British informal the one that you think is the best among a group of people or things, especially a small group: · This last poem's my favorite -- definitely the pick of the bunch.· They've come out with several good wines this year, but in my opinion the chardonnay is the best of the bunch.
the best part of something also the best bit British informal the best part of something such as an occasion, event etc: · The best part of the movie is the ending.· What was the best part of your vacation?
the best and most exciting part of something such as a journey, a film, or a period of time: · When I was young, Christmas was the highlight of the year.· We were looking forward to seeing the pyramids, which promised to be the highlight of our trip.
the best part of something, or the best moment of something: · The two days we spent in Granada were the high point of our trip.· Winning the 1994 World Championship was probably the high point of his career.
the best and most impressive part of something that someone has made, especially a meal: · And now for my pièce de résistance -- wild mushrooms cooked in red wine.
when you do something better than you have ever done before when you are at your best you are performing at your highest level of skill: · At his best, he's one of the most exciting tennis players in the world.· This recording captures Grappelli at his very best.
British /be in top form American if someone who is good at doing something is on top form , they are doing it as well as they can: · "Sue gave a really good speech last night.'' "Yes, she was on top form.''· If the Yankees are in top form there is no one that can beat them.
if someone, especially a sports person, is at their peak , they are at the time in their life when they are playing best, running best etc: · Long-distance runners are usually at their peak in their mid-30s.· When he was at his peak, Nicklaus was one of the best golfers there has ever been.
if someone such as a great writer or musician is at the height of their powers , they are doing the best work of their whole life: · When Orwell wrote 'Animal Farm', he was at the height of his powers.· The film shows Jimi Hendrix, at the height of his powers, giving a brilliant version of 'All Along the Watchtower'.
what you say when you are advising someone spoken · You should go to the doctor with that cough.· I think you should stay here until you've sobered up.· That new restaurant's great -- you really ought to try it.· Do you know what you ought to do? You ought to tell her exactly what you think of her.
spoken say this when you are giving someone friendly advice: · I wouldn't do that if I were you.· Here's your money -- if I were you I'd put it in the bank right now.
spoken say this when you are advising someone how to do something in a better way: · The ferry takes about eight hours! You'd be better off going by plane.· I think you'd be better off using a knife rather than scissors for that job.
spoken say this when you think that someone should do something because you know from your own experience how unpleasant or difficult something can be: · Take my advice - don't go into teaching unless you're absolutely committed.· Divorces are a nightmare. Take my advice and stay single.
spoken say this when you are telling someone that they should trust the advice you are giving them because it is based on your personal experience: · Take it from me, you'll regret it if you waste your time at school.· Love affairs with colleagues never work out -- take it from me.
especially written use this when you are strongly advising someone to do something, especially because they may have trouble if they do not do it: · Before your interview you'd be well advised to have another look at what you put on the application form.· There are parts of Detroit you'd be well advised to avoid.
formal use this when you are strongly advising someone not to do something because it would be dangerous or stupid: · On no account should you attempt this exercise if you're pregnant.not on any account: · You shouldn't sign the contract unless you are sure you understand it. Not on any account.
spoken say this when you do not want someone to make a mistake, for example by forgetting to do something or losing something: · Make sure that you take your passport.· Make sure you lock all the doors and windows at night.
spoken say this when you are telling someone what you think the best way of dealing with a particular situation is, based on your own experience: · The best thing is to just ignore her. She'll soon take the hint.
spoken say this especially when you are warning someone to be careful about something: · A word of advice: when you're at the interview don't mention that you used to work in a bar.
to behave well especially spoken to do what people tell you and not cause any trouble - use this especially about children: · If you two don't behave, I'm taking you straight home.behave yourself (=behave well): · Make sure you behave yourselves when we visit Grandma.
someone who is well-behaved does not cause any trouble and does what other people tell them to do - use this especially about children, pets, or large groups of people: · Can I bring my dog? She's very well-behaved.· a well-behaved child· The crowd was noisy but well-behaved.
if a child is good , he or she does not cause trouble and does what he or she is told to do: · I was always very good at school.· He's a good little boy.be good! (=used to tell a child to behave well): · Bye now, Jessie. Be good.
British /behavior American to make a special effort to behave well by doing and saying the right things and being very polite, because you know other people are watching you: · Dinner was very formal, with everyone on their best behaviour.
to try not to behave badly, especially because you do not want to be noticed or caught: · Have a good time, boys, but try to stay out of trouble.· If I stay out of trouble till June, my parents will take me to Florida.
informal to behave well, especially by not doing anything wrong or illegal: · It's not a great job, but if you keep your nose clean, you should be promoted by the end of the year.· He's been sentenced to seven years in prison, but he'll be out in four if he keeps his nose clean.
: an orderly crowd/demonstration/march etc well-behaved and not violent or out of control: · Police said it was an orderly demonstration and there were no arrests.· The crowd were orderly and in good spirits.
a particular way of dealing with something an action or several actions which could be taken in order to deal with a particular situation: · The best course of action would be to speak to her and tell her the whole story.· One possible course of action is to increase taxes on alcohol and tobacco.· Jim didn't want to start an argument, so agreeing seemed to be the safest course.
a particular way of dealing with a problem, difficult situation, or job: · The company needs to adopt a much more radical approach.approach to: · Each of the delegates suggested a different approach to the problem.· the government's aggressive approach to the question of homelessness
one of several ways that you could choose in order to deal with a problem or a difficult situation: · Working full-time may not be your best option.· What other options do I have?only option (=the only thing you can do): · Our only option now is to contact the police.no option (=no other way of dealing with something): · These people have no option but to take low-paid unattractive work.environmental/nuclear/political etc option: · As for replacement fuels, many people do not like to contemplate the nuclear option.
spoken the best way of dealing with something: · For getting around the city centre, a bicycle's your best bet.somebody's best bet is to do something: · We decided that our best bet was to leave him where he was and go and get help.
a very good friend someone that you know very well and like very much: · Helen is one of my closest friends.· Sam and I didn't get along very well at first but now we're really good friends.· They were close friends of my parents when we lived in Minneapolis.
the one special friend who is more important to you than any other: · We lived next door to each other when we were kids, and we've been best friends ever since.· Caroline and her best friend both had babies within three weeks of each other.
a good friend that you have known for a long time: · Lotte's one of my oldest friends.· I saw a few old friends at the reunion.
friends who are inseparable are together most of the time: · My brother and James have been inseparable since they were at primary school.· The three girls were inseparable friends.
also go way back informal if two people go back a long way , they have known each other or been working together for a very long time: · Sam and I go way back. We sat next to each other in first grade.· I know your aunt - in fact we go back a long way.
ways of ending a letter British use this at the end of formal letters, which began with 'Dear Sir', 'Dear Madam' etc: · Yours faithfully, Adam Browning
British use this at the end of formal letters which begin with 'Dear Mr ...', 'Dear Ms ...' etc: · Yours sincerely, Mary Whitford
American use this at the end of formal letters: · Yours truly, Donna Deavers
use this at the end of letter to members of your family, close friends etc: · I'll give you a call soon. Love, Brad
use this especially in letters or e-mails to friends and family: · All the best, Dad
use this at the end of letters to friends, to show that you will be thinking about them: · Take care, Martin and Sophie
also xoxo American use this at the end of letters and notes to people you love. The X's represent kisses and the O's represent hugs: · xxx Moira
use this especially in letters or e-mails to people you know or work with, especially people who are not family or close friends: · Regards, Jonathan Pryor
British /P.S. American use this when you want to add something after the end of a letter: · PS I love you.· PS Send my regards to Pauline.
most of an amount, group, or thing the largest number of people or things, or the largest part of something: · What most people want is a peaceful life.· Most restaurants open at 7.· Most evenings we just stay in and watch TV.· Most research suggests that health is related to social class.most of: · Most of the people I spoke to were very worried.· Alex spent most of his allowance on books.· I've lived here most of my life, so I know the area pretty well.
· He likes almost all kinds of popular music.· We got nearly all our food from the farm.· The bed occupied nearly all the space in the room.almost all/nearly all of · Nearly all of my clothes are too small now.· Almost all of the world's tropical forests are in developing countries.
more than half of the people or things in a large group: · A poll of Democrats shows that a majority support the President.the/a majority of: · In June the majority of our students will be taking examinations.· They claim their campaign is supported by a majority of residents.the vast/great/overwhelming majority (=far more than half): · The great majority of accidents in the Alps occur while climbers are coming down.· an education policy that will please the vast majority of parents
most of a large amount or number of something: · Throughout the Middle Ages, the bulk of the population lived in the country rather than in towns.· The bulk of the charity's income comes from private donations.
most of a period of time or of a distance, especially when the time or distance is too long: · It was the best part of a mile to the farm.· It'll probably take the best part of a week to sort it out.· I expect the whole procedure to take the better part of a morning.
the biggest part of something valuable or good that is taken by one person, group, or organization, so that others get less: · Sarah only ate a few bites of the dessert, so I got the lion's share.the lion's share of: · Why should the state get the lion's share of people's money?· His company currently has the lion's share of the market.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadverbs
His new book went straight to number one on the best-seller list. Despite our best endeavours, we couldn’t start the car. Liam decided to ignore the warning and just hope for the best (=hope that a situation will end well when there is a risk of things going wrong). advice on how best (=the best way) to invest your money Hepburn is best known for (=people are most likely to be familiar with) her roles in classic films such as ‘My Fair Lady’. The time I like best (=like most of all) is the evening when it’s cool. Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area. He’s good mates with John. I wasn’t criticizing you, I really meant it for the best (=wanted to be helpful, although my actions had the wrong effect). I’m not going to settle for second best. We only use the very best ingredients. Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
· He’s one of the very best players around.
· The series was easily the best TV drama this year.
· One girl stood out as by far the best singer.
adjectives· We sold the house at the best possible time.
· The tuition we offer here is the best available.
nouns· The best way to learn a language is to live in a country where it is spoken.
· The best thing to do is to apologize immediately.
(=the best way to make progress or deal with a problem)· We believe that a merger is the best way forward for the business.
· Making the best use of space is important in any room.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· Ian McEwan is a best-selling author.
· We use the best available technology.
His new book went straight to number one on the best-seller list.· They wore their best clothes for the photograph.
Despite our best endeavours, we couldn’t start the car. (=the friend you like the most)· Fiona was her best friend.
(=one that you think is most likely to be right)· My best guess is that it will take around six months.
· In his best handwriting, he wrote, 'Happy Father’s Day, Dad'.
Liam decided to ignore the warning and just hope for the best (=hope that a situation will end well when there is a risk of things going wrong). advice on how best (=the best way) to invest your money (=intentions to do something good or kind, especially when you do not succeed in doing it) He thinks the minister is full of good intentions that won’t be carried out.
He thinks the minister is full of good intentions that won’t be carried out. (=think that something is the best thing to do)· Robert wanted to go and help him, but judged it best to stay where he was.
· Not knowing what had happened to her was the worst kind of torture.
· This is hypocrisy of the worst kind.
Hepburn is best known for (=people are most likely to be familiar with) her roles in classic films such as ‘My Fair Lady’. (=plans that have been made carefully) Bad weather can upset even the best-laid travel plans.
Bad weather can upset even the best-laid travel plans. The time I like best (=like most of all) is the evening when it’s cool. (=the best, greatest etc who has been alive at any time) He’s probably the best journalist who ever lived.
He’s probably the best journalist who ever lived. Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area. He’s good mates with John. I wasn’t criticizing you, I really meant it for the best (=wanted to be helpful, although my actions had the wrong effect).· Is this really the best means of achieving our goal?
British English It’s much the best way to do it.
It’s much the best way to do it.· The worst part was having to work even when it was raining.
British English (=the best thing to do)· I think the best plan is to take the train.
(=used when you do not understand someone’s behaviour)· For reasons best known to herself, she decided to sell the house.
(=used when you are unsure if you remember correctly) To the best of my recollection, she drives a Mercedes. No one, to my recollection, gave a second thought to the risks involved.
To the best of my recollection, she drives a Mercedes. No one, to my recollection, gave a second thought to the risks involved.· Let's look at the map and work out the best route.
I’m not going to settle for second best. (=lose a game or competition, or not be as successful as someone else)
· Locking people in prison is not necessarily the ideal solution.
(=make as much effort as possible)· Try your best to block out other distractions.
We only use the very best ingredients.· Doing the job is often regarded as the best way of learning the job.
· We want to become the best team in the world.
· It is the world’s largest car manufacturer.
Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.· Our experienced editors comb the publishers' lists continually for the very best books for children - of all ages.· It would have to be the very best, and by a healthy margin.· Her old chum, her very best friend.· Knowing that, later I always insisted we send our very best, not our worst, when we were called on.· Traditional music at it s very best!· In my heart I was fiercely competitive: I wanted to be the very best at anything I cared about.· This is one of Gibson's very best discs and the orchestra plays splendidly.· The very best I could do was control my tears, to a point.
NOUN· Your best bet is to act unconcerned.· Extreme surfer and skateboard styles are still a best bet.· Despite the presence of the unbeaten Daarik, Montendre looks the best bet at York.· Until then, Confucius is your best bet.· Then the Pantry is your best bet.· Whether Tendulkar rather than McDermott will be the best bet in that direction remains open to question.· Perhaps the best bet would be to ignore the words altogether and focus on the music.
· Linfield had the best chance of the half, however, Eachus making a stunning save from a Johnston shot.· Mitch Snyder may have realized it was his best chance of making some kind of mark on the parish.· Fertilisations may occur over a period of a month, but the most recent foetuses have the best chance to develop.· I think he has the best chance of winning.· Blanche knew this was her best chance.· That was his best chance to win on his own.· In retrospect, this period offered the best chance for a settlement.
· I try to be the best example I can be.· Lord Thomson was the best example in the post-war period.· Perhaps the best example is CompuServe.· Perhaps the best example of the problems that this approach can cause is the Atari desktop publishing system.· The best example of this approach is an active document.· One might at least look to the best examples there may be today.· The best example is the evidence that surfaced last week in the billing records of her former law firm from 1985-86.
· Darling, sometimes, you are my best friend.· Both had grandsons who were best friends in the same grade in the same school.· Brilliant actress - I can totally freak out and not even my best friend knows.· She is anticipating a visit from Varvara, her best friend, who will arrive later this summer.· Stuart must be their best friend.· Jessica Rankin was pregnant, and I was her best friend.· Suddenly, the loyalist outcry over the arrests in the Rathcoole district was the government's best friend.· A Friend Dear Friend: Half of this panel say tell the best friend.
· Integration is the best hope for both.· The Suns may have to determine whether their best hope of rebuilding is to put Barkley on the market.· But for now persuasion, carrots and free elections remain the best hope.· He best hope Bill Cowher is.· Paradoxically, Diamond feels this loss of linguistic diversity may be our best hope.· He is still our best hope; our only hope.· The best hope for tree-nests is that they should be inaccessible.· If you want to dig the dirt your best hope is old Gooseneck, especially if he finds you attractive.
· If not, they are free to treat him in what they believe to be his best interests.· Their best interests must be served.· Despite the struggles, most still assume that Castro has their best interests at heart.· My loving parents are determining my future, with only my best interests at heart.· All the artificial constraints of maintaining a regulated monopoly mean that it is not in the best interests of the consumer.· Why would any nation hesitate to serve its own best interests by such sensible and humane redirection of its wealth?· The second aspect of merit goods is where society believes that individuals are no longer acting in their own best interests.· It is in the best interests of the family to have a body to embrace and say goodbye to.
· Despite the demands they face, all Red Arrows will tell you it's the best job in the world.· Fane Leeper was also the best job superintendent on the East Coast.· As the Helliwell sisters always had the pick of the best jobs, they of course lived there while working in London.· The other believed you use money to enhance the business to get people-to do the very best job for you.· Working for Blue Peter has got to be the best job in television.· In this there was a lesson: To get the best job, you had to weather the most abuse.· It's the best job in the world!· Candidates who have the most formal education and who are willing to relocate should have the best job prospects.
· You are the best man, so you can be best man.· They were close friends, and Critchley was the best man at Heseltine's wedding.· At the beginning, Ben Corum, one of our best men, had gone down to Texas.· When when they left the church the bride and groom were followed by the best man and the bridesmaid.· With John Alsop away at parachute school, George Thomson served as best man.· Perhaps the best man could take on the responsibility of arriving before the guests and checking the microphone.
· The best parts at the right price.· But the best part was the partner I spent most of my time with in the small real estate department.· The journey was the best part of the evening.· And the best part of visiting both is that eating haggis is not mandatory.· It is worth noting that this excess has been left to grow steadily over the best part of two centuries.· The best part of this game?· The bottom octave and a half of its compass is the best part of its range for everyday use.· The best part of me was lying under the ground with him in the California desert.
· The next best place is a well-ventilated room.· The best place to walk is in the middle of the pavement.· But the best place was the river bank.· Where is the best place to get tested?· The occultist, Dion Fortune, wrote that the best place to wake the old gods is on chalk.· It has made this country one of the best places in which to live, work and bring up our children.· We spent most of the time on the planet acid: the best place for us to be.
· He was United's best player by some margin on the night.· Shareef Abdur-Rahim is one of the best freshmen in the nation and best players in the league.· The only way to stop us now is selling our best players.· A: It is difficult because you are playing the best players.· Once again, Steffi Graf has shown herself to be the best player in the world by far - in more than one sense.· The best player in the world had been there, done that.· Boro midfield player Graham Kavanagh was voted the best player in the tournament.· Oduok has gone from being an inexperienced, uncertain player to one of the best players in the West Coast Conference.
· This chapter places project appraisal in context, discusses methods of appraisal and describes best practice.· The Energy Efficiency Office in my Department continues to promote the wider use of the technology under its best practice programme.· Equally important, however, is the acknowledgement that whatever is best practice today will almost certainly not be tomorrow.· The Centre will develop scenarios on emerging international markets in services, establish a database and produce company cases recording best practice.· The situation with Cadbury's proposed code of best practice could not be more different.· Communication Communicating the conclusions of best practice reviews is an activity that might well benefit from a best practice review itself.· The best practice is to try steering a controlled wiggly course using your weight.· There was also no correlation between those bids which showed best practice and those which were successful.
· The best results are obtained from watercolours, oils being less clean and controllable.· But, like an athlete, you must practice these exercises deliberately and consistently for the best results.· For thin sections, best results are obtained if the stain is warmed.· Pilates instructors also teach correct breathing and urge concentration on form for best results.· It is necessary to follow the routines exactly to obtain the best results.· Fish the northern side of Bird Island with jigs tipped with minnows at dawn for best results.· I realise this is higher than originally envisaged but I firmly believe our approach will lead to the best result.· The programs with the best results warn students of the long-term consequences of drug use.
· His album Stars was last year's best seller and spawned a string of hit singles.· Her book became an international best seller.· Voice over Mrs De Winter is already tipped as being one of the best sellers this year.· Q.. What makes a book a best seller?· She evidently had no concept of books other than best sellers.· The man who made a best seller out of a defamatory rant now wants to make a best seller out of repentance.· The Cavalier was the best seller in October, ahead of the Escort or Fiesta.· Drosnin is an investigative newspaper reporter who once wrote a best seller about Howard Hughes.
· The best thing about it was the solitude.· The best thing about it is that it works.· He leaves it undisclosed, which is perhaps the best thing to do with secrets.· Peace is the best thing you can wish for parents whose child has died, says a woman interviewed in the book.· The best thing about them is their smell.· The best thing I can do is stay in as good shape as possible.· The best thing they could do was comb the hundreds of pubs in the area.· Only days later, however, he was preaching that the outcome was the best thing that state had ever seen.
· The best time for the cuckoo to lay its egg is after the hosts have started laying and before they have finished.· The best time to nudge children toward functional writing is when they are in the midst of doing purposeful work.· The best time to practice relaxation is when you are feeling most under stress but often this is not convenient.· Hard times but the best times.· They are some of the best times I have ever had.· I mean, some of the best times of my life occurred when Dwight D.. Eisenhower was president.· Some of the best times of his life had been Sunday mornings.· You have the best time of anyone around.
· What would be the best way to grow it?· The best way to find relief is to approach her and apologize.· It was the best way to make a snug billet for himself.· Once again, the best way to determine whether a title is appropriate is to find out your readers' preference.· But the best way for us to deal with it was as a family because it's less frightening that way.· Thus, understanding how it stirs is one of the best ways for geophysicists to create an all-inclusive picture.· He felt the best way to cure her was to keep giving her her head.· The best way to say it is, everyone has different philosophies.
· I don't know your grandparents, but I hope you will send them my best wishes.· With best wishes for success and prosperity.· My best wishes to Madame Zborowska and warm greetings to you.· And please accept our best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous 1996.· And while babies are on my mind, my best wishes to Patsy Kensit on the birth of her son.· Our best wishes go to John and his family and we look forward to working with him for another 15 year.· Please believe in my loyalty and friendship and give my best wishes to your wife.· Please give him our best wishes for the year.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► best beforePHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► at your best/worst/most effective etc► your best bib and tucker► somebody had better/best do something► somebody knows best► man’s best friend► the best/biggest etc ... this side of something► your Sunday best► your/her/my etc Sunday best
1better than anything else or anyone else in quality, skill, how effective it is etc: - Caroline and her best friend both had babies within three weeks of each other.
- Stuart is just my brother's best friend - I've known him since I was six.
- We lived next door to each other when we were kids, and we've been best friends ever since.
- After all - the man was one of his best friends, wasn't he?
- Although many people would disagree, radio is without doubt the musician's best friend.
- Didn't any of his best friends tell him?
- He was like a kid who had found a new best friend, and she was it.
- He was not allowed to mention the slaughtering to anyone, not even as a special secret between best friends.
- I also learned to become my own best friend.
- Trials so that her injured best friend Kay Poe could advance.
- When Julie had a home problem, her two best friends at work tried to offer advice based on their own experiences.
- Everyone was in black because their best clothes were for funerals, and everyone danced.
- I washed them, then dressed them in their best clothes, but never new ones.
- She had her best shoes on, and a new hat.
- She had the best dress sense of any girl in Benedict's and a passion for altering the colour of her hair.
- The best car, the wittiest put-down, and the best dress.
- The first best clothes were only for Sunday and when visitors came.
- The princess arrayed herself in her best clothes and jewels.
- They would never let you in alone, even though you are wearing your best clothes.
- If I can't be home for Christmas, this is the next best thing.
- He can't ask them, so he is doing the next best thing.
- I guess they figured calling their game Arnie was the next best thing to having a blockbusting movie title.
- It is the next best thing to crossing the deserts of the world oneself.
- The new switch is the next best thing we could do to moving.
- The room is the next best thing to being outside.
- Video may seem like the next best thing to being there, but electronically mediated interactions are different from real-life meetings.
- We do, however, have the next best thing: a place to go for more information.
- We went to the bookshelves to find the next best thing.
- You can lose five pounds a week on this diet. And best of all, you never have to feel hungry.
- But Black Mountain was often not the best of all possible worlds.
- I'd have liked best of all to have stuffed his mouth with hay.
- I appeal to all who have ever known this best of all hospitals - fight for Bart's.
- Of all the participants Reagan came out best of all.
- Oh, but best of all was the chair in which I myself was destined momentarily to sit.
- That was the thing he loved best of all: running free.
- The Corps was a know-how, can-do outfit, possibly the best of all the outfits that came to town.
- All the children competed and performed to the best of their ability.
- I have always done my work to the best of my ability.
- Dinner was very formal, with everyone on their best behaviour.
- And if what Cadfael suspected was indeed true, he had now good reason to be on his best behaviour.
- But everyone is on their best behaviour.
- So when we arrived hopefully at Loch Hope that morning, I was on my best behaviour.
- Use only our own girls and warn them to be on their best behaviour.
- For getting around the city centre, a bicycle's your best bet.
- We decided that our best bet was to leave him where he was and go and get help.
- Well, your best bet would be to go back to Highway 218 and turn left.
- Ingram always seems to bring out the best in his players.
- And Vince was obviously a great coach; he brought out the best in his team and whoever played him.
- But the Washington Wizards have a way of bringing out the best in their opponents.
- But, says Markert, there is something about one-way communication that can also bring out the worst in people.
- Campaigns seem to bring out the worst in Bob Dole.
- It brings out the best in us.
- Maybe something like they tend to bring out the best in us.
- So, to bring out the best in your cooking make sure you use the purest soy sauce, Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
- Yet it was not an unsuccessful attempt to bring out the best in his audience.
- But me third was the best of the bunch.
- Either they are one of the best of the bunch at home, or they make their name abroad.
- Even these modest broadcasts show only the best of the bunch.
- He may be the best of the bunch.
- It's also the best of the bunch for multi-processing, he says.
- Nevertheless as an introduction it is the best of the bunch.
- Woolwich is the best of the bunch, trading at a multiple to future earnings of 10.3.
- And perhaps it was time to play the trump card up his sleeve.
- In the struggle for development, every economy has certain advantages or trump cards.
- Parents must recognize that if a child does not want to do homework, the child holds the trump card.
- That night, though, our sincerity was our trump card.
- That was why Gorbachev wanted to negotiate-and that is why, in my opinion, President Reagan was holding the trump card.
- The citizens of Hebron, by contrast, hold all the trump cards.
- This was one of the trump cards of News International in its dispute with the print workers in 1986-87.
- We had beaten him, but he played a final trump card.
- Alec Davidson, for example, was one of those who came off worst.
- Bullock comes off best because her complaining seems so valid.
- His foster-child comes off best, but in addition each of two nurses receives a tenth of his estate.
- It may seem, so far, that in terms of clearly defined benefits, the client comes off best out of the deal.
- Prior to that Meath had come off best when they accounted for Down in the 1990 league decider.
- The lightning, it seemed to Lydia, had undoubtedly come off best in that encounter.
- The problem is that history sometimes comes off better.
- Aluminium benching is easily the best, as it virtually lasts for ever and is easily cleaned.
- He's easily the best military brain in the country.
- It's easily the best Fermanagh side I've played on.
- It gave easily the best value.
- Johnny Hero played the between set music - again proving that he hosts easily the best disco in town.
- Natural gas forms easily the biggest world reserve of methane-rich fuel.
- The greens were easily the best part of the dish.
- The pension is easily the biggest single cash benefit.
- A few hundred metres off-shore we congregate so that Tor can explain the best way of going ashore.
- Are the best bargains going to petrol buyers?
- But in those years, they were always the team with the best record going into the playoffs.
- Its got to be the best ticket office going.
- Perhaps the biggest thing going was the harp played by JoAnn Turovsky, sounding positively, well, huge.
- There was a wide range of scores with the best individual score going to George McCallum of Douglas Reyburn with 37 points.
- This, so I was led to believe, was the best it was going to get.
- What is the best way of going forward? - Ideas from within I hear you say!
- Advocates just seem to take it on faith that annexation is the only hope of salvation for this city.
- But mad or not, you are my only hope, Meg.
- But Thomas Sachs was now her only hope.
- I expected to be disappointed, though the letter was now my only hope.
- In the long term, Mr Heseltine said that privatisation was the only hope for the industry.
- Is he only hoping to make money?
- Robert Urquhart was her only hope, her only ally.
- That was the only hope I had of reaching the doctor.
- Even so he did his level best with the new ball.
- We did our level best to look fascinated.
- Best of luck with your driving test.
- Good luck Archie! Enjoy your new job.
- But had we sat down with her, we would have wished her good luck.
- Everyone wished each other good luck and Mould, Matron and Endill headed off to the library.
- I wish him luck and hope that after a couple of years he is transferred back!
- James wished me good luck and dashed off home.
- Lineker and Paul Gascoigne have both been in touch with Spurs to wish them good luck for the new season.
- She wishes me luck, opens the door to the bathroom, and disappears into a cloud of steam.
- Well, I wish you luck.
- Yet at the start of the day both sides had wished each other luck.
- Laughter is the best medicine.
- A former teacher at Longlands College, Middlesbrough, Pat always believes in laughter as the best medicine for loneliness.
- Besides, it is the best medicine.
- Having Louella come and live with me will be the best medicine in the world.
- Recovery is the best medicine for the market, but it must be sustainable.
- He can't ask them, so he is doing the next best thing.
- I guess they figured calling their game Arnie was the next best thing to having a blockbusting movie title.
- It is the next best thing to crossing the deserts of the world oneself.
- The new switch is the next best thing we could do to moving.
- The room is the next best thing to being outside.
- Video may seem like the next best thing to being there, but electronically mediated interactions are different from real-life meetings.
- We do, however, have the next best thing: a place to go for more information.
- We went to the bookshelves to find the next best thing.
- Almost any child will assert that recess is the best part of the school day.
- Another child makes the family wretched with his crying for the better part of an hour.
- Converse drank the better part of the rum.
- For the better part of the next forty years they were to be the decisive restraints.
- I spent the better part of my time moping around the house, too dejected to think about practicing my stunts.
- It is not widely taught or particularly popular be-cause it takes the better part of a lifetime to master.
- This was it, the confrontation-point which he had been dreading for the best part of a week.
- But I still ran 20.51 seconds for a personal best, so I was happy.
- Conrad Allen came up trumps again, finishing fourth in the boys 800 metres in a personal best 2 mins. 22.
- Fredericks' 19. 68 was 0. 14 seconds lower than his personal best.
- His personal best before this season was 10. 08.
- I next ran at Oslo where I set a personal best for 200 metres, so that was encouraging.
- Ron and I take each year as it comes and we always plan for me to run a personal best every season.
- Sammy also collected a 50 freestyle bronze with 31.44-a personal best along with her 43.95 in the 50 breaststroke.
- That means that their motives are clean and their actions represent their personal best.
- Any successful entrepreneurial venture starts with making sure that the entrepreneur is in the best possible mental and physical health.
- But the psychologist was never confident that he had obtained the best possible scores from Nelson.
- For a moment, I imagined the best possible to the worst possible reply.
- Obviously, the purpose is to ensure that the best possible pensions arrangements are reached.
- That way it will have the best possible start in life.
- The additional value farmers receive is the best possible free advice on both inputs and marketing.
- The horrifying news sent the Ciprianos on a nationwide search to find the best possible treatment for their daughter.
- This at once enhances the contribution which the court or parents can make towards reaching the best possible decision in all the circumstances.
- An annex citing examples of good practice would also be helpful.
- Carlesimo said Tuesday, adding that Marshall had just put in his best practice of camp.
- It is good practice to make a note of the client's telephone number on the file.
- Supporters of those with special needs should be exemplars of such good practice.
- The good practice presented in Table 2 and Appendix 3 addresses many of the factors important to the control of risk.
- There is a danger in the search for good practice of looking only at those schools with good academic records.
- These premises are often inadequate to support good practice.
- This week, for example, the permanent secretaries of all government departments will meet to discuss best practice in procurement.
- He sends his best wishes to everybody at home.
- Mr Mason sends his best wishes for the success of the event.
- I'm not promising I'll succeed, but I'll give it my best shot.
- Hopefully he can recover and regain his test place and give it his best shot.
- I'd have given it my best shot, and that was all anyone could demand from me.
- I just have a feeling that we have given it our best shot.
- The band gave it their best shot, until the arrival of the blue meanies put an end to the proceedings.
- You were never entirely safe from prying fingers in Chinatown, but I had to give it my best shot.
- Now, I didn't get it because I was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- Boar chops are best suited to grilling or sauteing.
- If I were a free agent, those are the places I would go, a place best suited for my needs.
- It is not however so well suited to an intensive, detailed study of spoken language.
- Nevertheless, it is an early maturing variety well suited to the long ripening period of a northern wine region.
- Secondly, the adversary nature of the adjudicative process may not be well suited to this area.
- The farmer's wife was well suited to tackling this considerable undertaking.
- Use the systems best suited to their talent, both offensively and defensively.
- We have large quantities of plutonium already separated and in forms ideally suited for nuclear weapons.
- Ellie's the type of person that always thinks the best of people.
- He thought the worst of Mitch and clearly thought that left to herself she would ring London at once.
- I was so ready to think the worst of him, she wailed inwardly.
- My immediate reaction, whether it be a man or a woman, is to think the worst of them.
- The prospect of Guy leaving, thinking the worst of her, was unbearable.
- Why should you think the worst of me?
- You always think the worst of me.
- And seeing as it was my brainchild, would you not say it was possibly the best commercial of all time?
- Surely the biggest robbery of all time was the $ 900m that the Dome stole from lottery funds?
- That's the biggest understatement of all time!
- You could call that round the biggest fluke of all time...
- But they will be in costume, and all party goers will have a chance to vote on the best disguise.
- They also voted the Cappuccino the best sub-£20,000 sports car in the show.
- And, David, with the best will in the world, you can't teach him.
- Even with the best will in the world, we could not do it.
- A former miner, Joe was presented with a cheque together with good wishes for a long and happy retirement.
- And while babies are on my mind, my best wishes to Patsy Kensit on the birth of her son.
- Meanwhile, may I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for the coming year.
- My best wishes to Madame Zborowska and warm greetings to you.
- Our best wishes to his family and friends.
- She hadn't deserved their kindness, their good wishes - she'd hardly been a boon companion of late.
- Spare me your shock and good wishes.
- With best wishes for success and prosperity.
He won the best actor award. What’s the best way to cook this fish? The best thing to do is to stop worrying.it’s best to do something It’s best to go later in the season.easily the best/by far the best (=much better than anything else) John’s idea is by far the best option. Our pilots are given the best possible training. We use only the very best ingredients.2best friend the friend that you know and like better than anyone else: She was my best friend in college.3best dress/shoes/clothes etc clothing that you keep for special occasions: I put on my best suit for the wedding.4the next best thing something that is not exactly what you want but is as similar to it as possible: If sterile equipment isn’t available, the next best thing is to clean equipment with disinfectant.5best of all used to introduce the fact about a situation that is even better than the other good things: It’s clean and well-located, but best of all, it’s affordable.6best before British English written on food packets with the date that the food should be eaten before: Best before 13 July. a best-before date → be on your best behaviour at behaviour(2), → your best bet at bet2(2), → the best/better part of at part1(6)COLLOCATIONSadverbsthe very best· He’s one of the very best players around.easily the best· The series was easily the best TV drama this year.by far the best· One girl stood out as by far the best singer.adjectivesthe best possible· We sold the house at the best possible time.the best available· The tuition we offer here is the best available.nounsthe best way to do/of doing something· The best way to learn a language is to live in a country where it is spoken.the best thing to do· The best thing to do is to apologize immediately.the best way forward (=the best way to make progress or deal with a problem)· We believe that a merger is the best way forward for the business.make the best use of something· Making the best use of space is important in any room.best1 adjectivebest2 adverbbest3 nounbest4 verb
bestbest2 ●●● S1 W2 adverb [superlative of well] EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I've met him a few times but Helen knows him best.
- It was the best-organized conference I've ever attended.
- Our new spring dresses have a look that can best be described as neat yet casual.
- The judges liked the pumpkin pie from Gayle's Bakery best.
- Try a few different skis and boots to see what works best for you.
- What kind of wine do you like best?
- Joe is, of course, best remembered as the first professional to overcome what had grown into a hoodoo.
- State which method would fit in best with healthy eating guidelines and explain why.
- The concept of liberalism in the United States is best understood as a very limited version of democratic socialism.
- This is best reflected in the demise of the Yiddish-language press in New York.
Longman Language Activatorbetter than all others
better than anything or anyone else: · The best ice cream in the world is made in Italy.· What's the best way to cook sweet potatoes?by far the best/easily the best (=much better than any others): · It was by far the best vacation I've ever had.somebody's best: · I've read most of his books, but 'Mosquito Coast' is easily his best.
the best and most important that there has ever been: · New Yorkers think they live in the greatest city on earth.· Picasso is generally regarded as the greatest artist of the 20th century.· Gorbachev's greatest achievement was ending the Cold War.
the best and highest quality, or the best and most skilful: · Hemingway was the finest American writer of his generation.· The Silver Pavilion is one of the finest examples of Japanese architecture.· Many people regard Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as his finest work.· The gallery's collection of early Impressionist paintings is one of the world's finest.
the best and most suitable: · The ideal candidate will have a degree and at least two years' experience.· I'm afraid the accommodation here is far from ideal.ideal for: · The conditions are ideal for a day's skiing.ideal for doing something: · The town makes an ideal base for exploring the surrounding countryside.
the most skilful, most successful, and most famous: · He is definitely one of the world's top golfers.· The prize is to have your hair done at a top New York salon.
the person who is most successful in their company or in the type of work that they do: · For three years, he was the company's number one salesman.· Sweden's number one model has married American actor Tommy Haines.
: the place/shop/person/authority etc use this to say that something is the best one of its kind. Pronounce it as 'thee' instead of 'thuh': · Manhattan's East Village is the place for exciting nightlife.· Our guest speaker today is the authority on Chinese politics.
the ultimate person or thing is the very best of their type that there has ever been, and it is hard to believe that anything could ever be better: · Monroe was the ultimate Hollywood movie star.· For many people, the Rolling Stones will always be the world's ultimate rock and roll band.the ultimate in: · Our first-class passengers enjoy the ultimate in luxury and service.
the best that can be achieved or the best for a particular purpose - used especially in scientific contexts: · The optimum temperature for producing steel is around 1200C.
the definitive description, study etc is considered to be the best and cannot be improved - use this about a book or piece of work that is the best of its kind: · Griffin is the author of the definitive travel guide 'France at Your Fingertips'.· This may be the definitive book on the Scarlatti trial.· Many people regard it as the definitive interpretation of 'War and Peace'.
formal if something is unsurpassed , nothing else has ever been better - use this about qualities or achievements: · His genius as a dramatist is unsurpassed.· Venice is a city of unsurpassed beauty.
: a record-breaking result, temperature, time etc is the highest, largest, fastest etc that has ever been achieved: · A record-breaking five hundred thousand people attended the festival. · Record-breaking temperatures are being forecast for the weekend.
the best people or things in a group · She was the best in her class at college.· I chose a Japanese camera because I wanted to have the best.the best in his/her field (=the person who knows most about a particular subject) · When it comes to cancer research, Professor Williams is probably the best in her field.
the best player in a team, the best student in a class etc: · Sonya's the class star.star of: · They're all strong players, but Laura's undoubtedly the star of the team.star player/performer/student/pupil etc: · Woodward continues to be the Post's star reporter.
the small number of people who are the very best in a particular group, because they are the most intelligent or the most highly skilled: · The cream of India's scientists are being attracted abroad by highly paid jobs.the cream of the crop (=the best people or things in a particular group): · Universities such as Harvard accept only the cream of the crop.
: elite troops/group/college etc a group of people who are the best, and most highly trained or educated: · The palace is guarded by elite troops loyal to the president.· In 1978 he joined the CRS, France's elite corps of riot police.
also the pick of the bunch British informal the one that you think is the best among a group of people or things, especially a small group: · This last poem's my favorite -- definitely the pick of the bunch.· They've come out with several good wines this year, but in my opinion the chardonnay is the best of the bunch.
the best part of something also the best bit British informal the best part of something such as an occasion, event etc: · The best part of the movie is the ending.· What was the best part of your vacation?
the best and most exciting part of something such as a journey, a film, or a period of time: · When I was young, Christmas was the highlight of the year.· We were looking forward to seeing the pyramids, which promised to be the highlight of our trip.
the best part of something, or the best moment of something: · The two days we spent in Granada were the high point of our trip.· Winning the 1994 World Championship was probably the high point of his career.
the best and most impressive part of something that someone has made, especially a meal: · And now for my pièce de résistance -- wild mushrooms cooked in red wine.
when you do something better than you have ever done before when you are at your best you are performing at your highest level of skill: · At his best, he's one of the most exciting tennis players in the world.· This recording captures Grappelli at his very best.
British /be in top form American if someone who is good at doing something is on top form , they are doing it as well as they can: · "Sue gave a really good speech last night.'' "Yes, she was on top form.''· If the Yankees are in top form there is no one that can beat them.
if someone, especially a sports person, is at their peak , they are at the time in their life when they are playing best, running best etc: · Long-distance runners are usually at their peak in their mid-30s.· When he was at his peak, Nicklaus was one of the best golfers there has ever been.
if someone such as a great writer or musician is at the height of their powers , they are doing the best work of their whole life: · When Orwell wrote 'Animal Farm', he was at the height of his powers.· The film shows Jimi Hendrix, at the height of his powers, giving a brilliant version of 'All Along the Watchtower'.
the one you like better than any others British /favorite American your favourite colour, food, teacher etc is the one you like more than all other colours, types of food etc: · My favourite colour is purple.· Who is your favorite singer?· Proceeds from the concert will go to the singer's favorite charities.
especially spoken to like something better than other things - use this especially when you are asking someone to choose or when you are choosing: · Which of these dresses do you like best?like something best: · I think I like the red one best.
formal the preferred method, plan etc is the one that people think is the best: · Steaming is the preferred method of cooking in Central Asia.· Seventeen percent of likely voters picked Stark as their preferred candidate.
the thing or person you like best and would choose first when you have several to choose from: · Frances was our first choice as a name for the baby.· Parents choosing schools for their children are rarely given their first choice.first choice for: · Atkins was the producers' first choice for the part of the maid.first choice of: · Twenty-six percent of the students said that teaching was their first choice of occupations.
when someone likes one thing or person rather than another: · There are definite regional preferences amongst our clients.· Oil or vinegar may be added for a more bland or sharp sauce, according to your preference.preference for: · Adams expressed her preference for New York, despite the fact that she's lived in California for six years.
to try as hard as you can · Come on, try as hard as you can!· I tried as hard as I could, but I still couldn't get everything into one suitcase.try as hard as you can to do something · She tried as hard as she could to look interested.
to try as hard as you can, even when the situation is difficult and you are not sure if you will succeed: · I don't know if I'll manage to get everything finished by Friday, but I'll certainly do my best.do/try your best to do something: · Harry did his best to sound calm, but it was obvious that he was really annoyed.· She tried her best not to laugh.
to try as hard as you can to do something, even though it is difficult or you do not have enough time, money etc to do it really well: · It's a very tough exam but just do the best you can.· More medical supplies will be arriving next week -- until then, doctors and nurses must do the best they can.do the best you can to do something: · I did the best I could to make him change his mind, but he refused.
informal to do everything possible to make an event, celebration, competition etc successful: · They gave me a great leaving party - they really pulled out all the stops.· If we pull out all the stops we should still be able to meet our deadline.
informal to try to do something as well as you can, even though you do not have all the necessary skills or equipment: · I'm not promising I'll succeed, but I'll give it my best shot.
to try as much as you possibly can, and for as long as possible, to achieve something very difficult: · We have done our utmost. There is no more we could possibly do.do your utmost to do something: · The Secretary of State assured reporters that the Administration was doing its utmost to avoid war.
to use every possible method to try to do something: · I'm trying to help -- I'm doing everything I possibly can.· I did everything I could to raise money, including selling my house.· Her mother did all she could to encourage Tracy to study medicine.
to use all your energy and determination to achieve something that is personally very important to you: · She gave her all in the last race, but it wasn't quite good enough to win.
if you do something as best you can , especially something difficult or unpleasant, you try as hard as you can to do it because you cannot change the situation: · I cleaned the car up as best I could, but it still looked a mess.· We'll have to manage as best we can without you.
if you do something to the best of your ability , you do it as well as you can, even if you are not sure that you are doing it very well: · I have always done my work to the best of my ability.· All the children competed and performed to the best of their ability.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY He’s perhaps best known for his role in ‘Midnight Cowboy’.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES His new book went straight to number one on the best-seller list. Despite our best endeavours, we couldn’t start the car. Liam decided to ignore the warning and just hope for the best (=hope that a situation will end well when there is a risk of things going wrong). advice on how best (=the best way) to invest your money Hepburn is best known for (=people are most likely to be familiar with) her roles in classic films such as ‘My Fair Lady’. The time I like best (=like most of all) is the evening when it’s cool. Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area. He’s good mates with John. I wasn’t criticizing you, I really meant it for the best (=wanted to be helpful, although my actions had the wrong effect). I’m not going to settle for second best. We only use the very best ingredients. Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
He’s perhaps best known for his role in ‘Midnight Cowboy’.· Ian McEwan is a best-selling author.
· We use the best available technology.
His new book went straight to number one on the best-seller list.· They wore their best clothes for the photograph.
Despite our best endeavours, we couldn’t start the car. (=the friend you like the most)· Fiona was her best friend.
(=one that you think is most likely to be right)· My best guess is that it will take around six months.
· In his best handwriting, he wrote, 'Happy Father’s Day, Dad'.
Liam decided to ignore the warning and just hope for the best (=hope that a situation will end well when there is a risk of things going wrong). advice on how best (=the best way) to invest your money (=intentions to do something good or kind, especially when you do not succeed in doing it) He thinks the minister is full of good intentions that won’t be carried out.
He thinks the minister is full of good intentions that won’t be carried out. (=think that something is the best thing to do)· Robert wanted to go and help him, but judged it best to stay where he was.
· Not knowing what had happened to her was the worst kind of torture.
· This is hypocrisy of the worst kind.
Hepburn is best known for (=people are most likely to be familiar with) her roles in classic films such as ‘My Fair Lady’. (=plans that have been made carefully) Bad weather can upset even the best-laid travel plans.
Bad weather can upset even the best-laid travel plans. The time I like best (=like most of all) is the evening when it’s cool. (=the best, greatest etc who has been alive at any time) He’s probably the best journalist who ever lived.
He’s probably the best journalist who ever lived. Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area. He’s good mates with John. I wasn’t criticizing you, I really meant it for the best (=wanted to be helpful, although my actions had the wrong effect).· Is this really the best means of achieving our goal?
British English It’s much the best way to do it.
It’s much the best way to do it.· The worst part was having to work even when it was raining.
British English (=the best thing to do)· I think the best plan is to take the train.
(=used when you do not understand someone’s behaviour)· For reasons best known to herself, she decided to sell the house.
(=used when you are unsure if you remember correctly) To the best of my recollection, she drives a Mercedes. No one, to my recollection, gave a second thought to the risks involved.
To the best of my recollection, she drives a Mercedes. No one, to my recollection, gave a second thought to the risks involved.· Let's look at the map and work out the best route.
I’m not going to settle for second best. (=lose a game or competition, or not be as successful as someone else)
· Locking people in prison is not necessarily the ideal solution.
(=make as much effort as possible)· Try your best to block out other distractions.
We only use the very best ingredients.· Doing the job is often regarded as the best way of learning the job.
· We want to become the best team in the world.
· It is the world’s largest car manufacturer.
Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.· One of the best known is Richard Long.· Pat Young is one of the province's best known fashion mavericks.· Even among the biggest and best known firms, financial performance is becoming more important in separating sheep from goats.· The best known of them was Dornford Yates, author of the now unreadable but once hugely read Berry and Co stories.· The topic of sexism in language is probably the best known of all feminist linguistic concerns.· The Trustee Savings Banks were one of the best known of such institutions.· Karpov is the best known of the contestants.
VERB· Educating young people to drink responsibly and in moderation is best achieved by parents setting a good example.· This is best achieved by personal contact.· Removal of water salts from fine sediments is best achieved using dialysis.· It was generally accepted that this was best achieved by attacking enemy tactical aircraft on their airfields.· The intellect merely helps us choose the means by which we may best achieve ends dictated by our instincts.· A stable economy is best achieved by ensuring a steady and low rate of growth in the money supply. 4.
· Generally speaking, one is best avoiding the middle colour tones as they will not blend well with the flowers.· Experience showed that the extremes were best avoided.· Excessive quantities of dairy products, refined sugars and raw foods would be best avoided, with the emphasis on excessive.· Unless they are quite brilliant, jokes are best avoided in essays.· It's fine walking country in any weather, though it's probably best avoided on Bank Holidays and summer Sundays.· Any activity that causes the same physical emotional feelings as the particular addictive behaviour would be best avoided.· All stable vices, such as cribbing or weaving, are best avoided.· Special anti-condensation and anti-fungicide paints are available, but they contain a range of harmful chemicals and are best avoided.
· The last two really best describe the futility from the title.· And, in a season best described as wacky, Frieder might have yet another surprise.· Heskey, having bounded off the bench, was struck by what is best described as Fowler's Disease.· The algorithm used is best described by considering an example.· The consequences are best described by Bismarck himself.· The photograph best describes the elegance and practicality of this feature.· The objectives and criteria of success of any training scheme are best described in system terms.
· These unfolding events are best explained by a close look at factory economics.· The difference between the average and marginal tax rates illustrated in Exhibit 2. 2 may be best explained by an example.· The nature of the variable is best explained by reference to the relevant descriptors in Table 8.2.· Modern functionalist approaches continue to emphasize that state intervention is best explained by an impersonal logic of the development of advanced capitalism.· The idea of a selfish herd is W. D. Hamilton's, and is perhaps best explained by his own imaginary example.· And surely they are best explained in terms of how these special motives come about?· However, unlike Skinner, Piaget believed that development is best explained by describing the ways in which children understand such relations.· The difficulty is best explained by contrast with a eukaryotic species - for example the house mouse, Mus musculus.
· It is therefore Mitchell's study which best fits the general argument being developed here.· Allen and Burton now argue that, at least as far as their observational data are concerned, the projectile model best fits the facts.· The form by which the dialogue is represented is the one that best fits the mood and subject of the dialogue.· I am not expert enough to say which of the banding systems best fits the bill.· The chosen option must be the one which best fits the forecast cost for the total project.· But one of them may be the sort of book you feel you are best fitted to write.· The elaborate songs of male birds clearly fit best a manipulatory interpretation.
· The next phase is best illustrated by statues from Attica.· This type of analysis is best illustrated by the following specific example.· We can best illustrate this with two absurd examples.· This is best illustrated by considering the flow of information through the various stages of recognition, as shown in Figure 3.1.· Just how great the change has been is perhaps best illustrated by reference to the number of daily commuters into London.· The difference is best illustrated by a case example.· The point is best illustrated by reference to specific examples under the existing United Kingdom constitution.
· Fathers know best, don't they?· But she is best known as one of the Sumerian demons of storm and night.· Now he is known best for writing and talking a good match.· The ground floor is best known for its unique collection of antique dolls' houses dating back to 1673.· And yet the deed for which he is best known needed no-courage at all, no effort, even.· Unfortunately, order number 7532 had not been met, due to problems best known to the Computex production engineer.
· This work is best left to a professional builder, with experience of altering and renovating chimneys and flues.· Hedgerow briars are best left for walking sticks.· Serious Maintenance is best left to the professionals but here are three simple things you can do for yourself.· Fixing mirrors to ceilings requires some skill and knowledge, and is probably best left to a glazier.· It may need to be tailor-made, and therefore it's best left to the experts.· The classic reds of Bordeaux are best left until at least a decade after the vintage date printed on the label.· Who hear swear with good nature? Best leave alone, keep silent.· Not surprisingly, they told us it's best left to professional fund-raisers.
· These cover the whole range of moods and the customer selects the one she likes best.· The thing I liked best about Teravainen was that he was consumed with factual accuracy.· And I said I wished I could go and sniff the various scents to see which I liked best.· What I liked best about Happy was that she had no father.· What he'd like best is to stay in bed on Father's Day.· What I like best is to talk to fellow artists.· I'd have liked best of all to have stuffed his mouth with hay.· Mervyn liked best to work alone, in the open air, and was very observant.
· The breeder is best placed to advise you.· Smaller plants are best placed in tanks together with the stones on which they are growing.· Savage Orc Shamans are best placed with units of Savage Orcs where their protective tattoos will be enhanced.
· Minor movements of less than a hundred metres or so are probably best regarded as interruptions in one main cycle.· Such laws, although sometimes run together with causal laws, are best regarded as otherwise.
· The Dean's annual sit-out, for which he will be best remembered, this year raised a staggering £400,000.· She is best remembered for extinguishing a blazing fire by making the sign of the cross.· He will be best remembered for the flair he brought to the Arsenal side that won the league in 1989 and 1991.· It is well known that we remember best what comes first and what comes last in any period of study or reading.· Gielgud will be best remembered for a series of radical interpretations and performances in Shakespearean roles.· My flower - the one that I remember best out of many - was gathered where I said it had been.
· Mr Gergen will best serve his new boss if he reminds him of the strengths of one of his old ones.· He suggested that people's interests are best served by pursuing personal gains.· This in itself raises issues of how the information infrastructure can best serve two models at once.· A succession of situations each one more impossible than the last, may be what will best serve you.· We are best served by being very good in a relatively narrow field.· To best serve patients' needs, care givers must be realistic in their expectations.· Salami are best served as an antipasto, in sandwiches, with salads or eaten with a little cheese and fresh crusty bread.· Whose purposes are best served by the commodification of people and place in area advertising?
· The mathematical singularity arises because the set of coordinates imposed everywhere is best suited to regions of small curvature.· And although many people claim that dictation is best suited for Perry Mason reruns, dictation does have some benefits.· What sort of person would be best suited?· If I were a free agent, those are the places I would go, a place best suited for my needs.· However, this is purely a matter of experimentation and discovering what best suits your method of working.· This is actually the simplest form of meditation and is best suited to the beginner.· The matrix approach is best suited for complex projects which require the simultaneous efforts of experts from several disciplines.· The activity holidays on offer are really best suited to groups.
· The present system of bargaining and control is therefore best understood by tracing its origins and developments.· The concept of liberalism in the United States is best understood as a very limited version of democratic socialism.· Holism is probably best understood in terms of its opposite-individualism.· This is best understood by doing some exercises without any knitting on the machine.· This is the oldest system and probably the best understood by most people whatever their backgrounds.· Fitness differences are best understood as reproductive expectancy differences analogous to normalized life expectancy differences.· We can best understand the nature of societies and the ways in which they change by investigating the relations between practices.
· They are best used for cocktail savouries, but the cheaper mussels make a very tasty pasta sauce.· They are best used for planting in garden pools and the like.· The struggle for existence is a term best used in a large and metaphorical sense.· Sea salt is usually available in coarse or fine grades and is best used from a salt mill as a condiment.· Woks are best used over a gas flame.· This adventure book is best used with experienced players.· It is best used after being steeped in water for a few hours.· Percussion Like brass instruments, percussion is best used sparingly and occasionally.
· We send you and your dear wife best wishes for the New Year.· So best wishes to Rosalind, the Society's most northerly teacher.
· We made the non-slip surfaces by stippling the tops with a bass broom - a fairly new one works best.· They work best massed into a mob.· Two operators work best when the first starts to apply chemical while the other assembles the machine and gets it running.· The essay works best when it is dealing with people; and most of these are biographical sketches.· Researchers have argued consistently that a coherent approach is needed to finding the type of intervention which works best for which children.· While some students work best with their peers, their classmates might benefit more from the personal attention of their teacher.· They usually work best in conjunction with the two senses we can record, sound and sight.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► at your best/worst/most effective etc► your best bib and tucker► somebody had better/best do something► somebody knows best► man’s best friend► the best/biggest etc ... this side of something► your Sunday best► your/her/my etc Sunday best
1in a way that is better than any other: - I'll deal with the problem as best I can.
- I cleaned the car up as best I could, but it still looked a mess.
- We'll have to manage as best we can without you.
- And her reaction to her illness was, as best I can glean, fraught with fear, discouragement, and depression.
- I would therefore be grateful if you could refer back to the letter I wrote and respond as best you can.
- It is therefore necessary to locate as best we can the final resting place or incidence of the major types of taxes.
- Only a proportion of them are successful and the rest must struggle as best they can to obtain mates.
- Our culture has no Obon ready-made, but we are filling in as best we can.
- Then you gently and gradually work the new feather on, positioning it to match the original plumage as best you can.
- We must also imagine our way into myth, as best we can, like actors in a play.
- You just have to wait and catch your moment or piece things together as best you can.
- They had best be careful.
- All due, of course, to the fact that she had bested Travis McKenna.
- But pitchers had best take note as well.
- If so, we had best listen closely, since we will not get another chance.
- Meanwhile we had best prepare the way by showing that a medicine beyond verbal shamanism is an aching need.
- Perhaps we had best ask ourselves why our political institutions function as they do.
- Poets like Woodhouse had best go back to their jobs.
- The concept of differentiation is a key theme of our work, and we had best discuss it as the book unfolds.
- All the children competed and performed to the best of their ability.
- I have always done my work to the best of my ability.
- Dinner was very formal, with everyone on their best behaviour.
- And if what Cadfael suspected was indeed true, he had now good reason to be on his best behaviour.
- But everyone is on their best behaviour.
- So when we arrived hopefully at Loch Hope that morning, I was on my best behaviour.
- Use only our own girls and warn them to be on their best behaviour.
- For getting around the city centre, a bicycle's your best bet.
- We decided that our best bet was to leave him where he was and go and get help.
- Well, your best bet would be to go back to Highway 218 and turn left.
- Ingram always seems to bring out the best in his players.
- And Vince was obviously a great coach; he brought out the best in his team and whoever played him.
- But the Washington Wizards have a way of bringing out the best in their opponents.
- But, says Markert, there is something about one-way communication that can also bring out the worst in people.
- Campaigns seem to bring out the worst in Bob Dole.
- It brings out the best in us.
- Maybe something like they tend to bring out the best in us.
- So, to bring out the best in your cooking make sure you use the purest soy sauce, Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
- Yet it was not an unsuccessful attempt to bring out the best in his audience.
- But me third was the best of the bunch.
- Either they are one of the best of the bunch at home, or they make their name abroad.
- Even these modest broadcasts show only the best of the bunch.
- He may be the best of the bunch.
- It's also the best of the bunch for multi-processing, he says.
- Nevertheless as an introduction it is the best of the bunch.
- Woolwich is the best of the bunch, trading at a multiple to future earnings of 10.3.
- And perhaps it was time to play the trump card up his sleeve.
- In the struggle for development, every economy has certain advantages or trump cards.
- Parents must recognize that if a child does not want to do homework, the child holds the trump card.
- That night, though, our sincerity was our trump card.
- That was why Gorbachev wanted to negotiate-and that is why, in my opinion, President Reagan was holding the trump card.
- The citizens of Hebron, by contrast, hold all the trump cards.
- This was one of the trump cards of News International in its dispute with the print workers in 1986-87.
- We had beaten him, but he played a final trump card.
- Alec Davidson, for example, was one of those who came off worst.
- Bullock comes off best because her complaining seems so valid.
- His foster-child comes off best, but in addition each of two nurses receives a tenth of his estate.
- It may seem, so far, that in terms of clearly defined benefits, the client comes off best out of the deal.
- Prior to that Meath had come off best when they accounted for Down in the 1990 league decider.
- The lightning, it seemed to Lydia, had undoubtedly come off best in that encounter.
- The problem is that history sometimes comes off better.
- Aluminium benching is easily the best, as it virtually lasts for ever and is easily cleaned.
- He's easily the best military brain in the country.
- It's easily the best Fermanagh side I've played on.
- It gave easily the best value.
- Johnny Hero played the between set music - again proving that he hosts easily the best disco in town.
- Natural gas forms easily the biggest world reserve of methane-rich fuel.
- The greens were easily the best part of the dish.
- The pension is easily the biggest single cash benefit.
- A few hundred metres off-shore we congregate so that Tor can explain the best way of going ashore.
- Are the best bargains going to petrol buyers?
- But in those years, they were always the team with the best record going into the playoffs.
- Its got to be the best ticket office going.
- Perhaps the biggest thing going was the harp played by JoAnn Turovsky, sounding positively, well, huge.
- There was a wide range of scores with the best individual score going to George McCallum of Douglas Reyburn with 37 points.
- This, so I was led to believe, was the best it was going to get.
- What is the best way of going forward? - Ideas from within I hear you say!
- Advocates just seem to take it on faith that annexation is the only hope of salvation for this city.
- But mad or not, you are my only hope, Meg.
- But Thomas Sachs was now her only hope.
- I expected to be disappointed, though the letter was now my only hope.
- In the long term, Mr Heseltine said that privatisation was the only hope for the industry.
- Is he only hoping to make money?
- Robert Urquhart was her only hope, her only ally.
- That was the only hope I had of reaching the doctor.
- Even so he did his level best with the new ball.
- We did our level best to look fascinated.
- Best of luck with your driving test.
- Good luck Archie! Enjoy your new job.
- But had we sat down with her, we would have wished her good luck.
- Everyone wished each other good luck and Mould, Matron and Endill headed off to the library.
- I wish him luck and hope that after a couple of years he is transferred back!
- James wished me good luck and dashed off home.
- Lineker and Paul Gascoigne have both been in touch with Spurs to wish them good luck for the new season.
- She wishes me luck, opens the door to the bathroom, and disappears into a cloud of steam.
- Well, I wish you luck.
- Yet at the start of the day both sides had wished each other luck.
- Laughter is the best medicine.
- A former teacher at Longlands College, Middlesbrough, Pat always believes in laughter as the best medicine for loneliness.
- Besides, it is the best medicine.
- Having Louella come and live with me will be the best medicine in the world.
- Recovery is the best medicine for the market, but it must be sustainable.
- He can't ask them, so he is doing the next best thing.
- I guess they figured calling their game Arnie was the next best thing to having a blockbusting movie title.
- It is the next best thing to crossing the deserts of the world oneself.
- The new switch is the next best thing we could do to moving.
- The room is the next best thing to being outside.
- Video may seem like the next best thing to being there, but electronically mediated interactions are different from real-life meetings.
- We do, however, have the next best thing: a place to go for more information.
- We went to the bookshelves to find the next best thing.
- Almost any child will assert that recess is the best part of the school day.
- Another child makes the family wretched with his crying for the better part of an hour.
- Converse drank the better part of the rum.
- For the better part of the next forty years they were to be the decisive restraints.
- I spent the better part of my time moping around the house, too dejected to think about practicing my stunts.
- It is not widely taught or particularly popular be-cause it takes the better part of a lifetime to master.
- This was it, the confrontation-point which he had been dreading for the best part of a week.
- But I still ran 20.51 seconds for a personal best, so I was happy.
- Conrad Allen came up trumps again, finishing fourth in the boys 800 metres in a personal best 2 mins. 22.
- Fredericks' 19. 68 was 0. 14 seconds lower than his personal best.
- His personal best before this season was 10. 08.
- I next ran at Oslo where I set a personal best for 200 metres, so that was encouraging.
- Ron and I take each year as it comes and we always plan for me to run a personal best every season.
- Sammy also collected a 50 freestyle bronze with 31.44-a personal best along with her 43.95 in the 50 breaststroke.
- That means that their motives are clean and their actions represent their personal best.
- Any successful entrepreneurial venture starts with making sure that the entrepreneur is in the best possible mental and physical health.
- But the psychologist was never confident that he had obtained the best possible scores from Nelson.
- For a moment, I imagined the best possible to the worst possible reply.
- Obviously, the purpose is to ensure that the best possible pensions arrangements are reached.
- That way it will have the best possible start in life.
- The additional value farmers receive is the best possible free advice on both inputs and marketing.
- The horrifying news sent the Ciprianos on a nationwide search to find the best possible treatment for their daughter.
- This at once enhances the contribution which the court or parents can make towards reaching the best possible decision in all the circumstances.
- An annex citing examples of good practice would also be helpful.
- Carlesimo said Tuesday, adding that Marshall had just put in his best practice of camp.
- It is good practice to make a note of the client's telephone number on the file.
- Supporters of those with special needs should be exemplars of such good practice.
- The good practice presented in Table 2 and Appendix 3 addresses many of the factors important to the control of risk.
- There is a danger in the search for good practice of looking only at those schools with good academic records.
- These premises are often inadequate to support good practice.
- This week, for example, the permanent secretaries of all government departments will meet to discuss best practice in procurement.
- He sends his best wishes to everybody at home.
- Mr Mason sends his best wishes for the success of the event.
- I'm not promising I'll succeed, but I'll give it my best shot.
- Hopefully he can recover and regain his test place and give it his best shot.
- I'd have given it my best shot, and that was all anyone could demand from me.
- I just have a feeling that we have given it our best shot.
- The band gave it their best shot, until the arrival of the blue meanies put an end to the proceedings.
- You were never entirely safe from prying fingers in Chinatown, but I had to give it my best shot.
- Now, I didn't get it because I was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- Boar chops are best suited to grilling or sauteing.
- If I were a free agent, those are the places I would go, a place best suited for my needs.
- It is not however so well suited to an intensive, detailed study of spoken language.
- Nevertheless, it is an early maturing variety well suited to the long ripening period of a northern wine region.
- Secondly, the adversary nature of the adjudicative process may not be well suited to this area.
- The farmer's wife was well suited to tackling this considerable undertaking.
- Use the systems best suited to their talent, both offensively and defensively.
- We have large quantities of plutonium already separated and in forms ideally suited for nuclear weapons.
- Ellie's the type of person that always thinks the best of people.
- He thought the worst of Mitch and clearly thought that left to herself she would ring London at once.
- I was so ready to think the worst of him, she wailed inwardly.
- My immediate reaction, whether it be a man or a woman, is to think the worst of them.
- The prospect of Guy leaving, thinking the worst of her, was unbearable.
- Why should you think the worst of me?
- You always think the worst of me.
- And seeing as it was my brainchild, would you not say it was possibly the best commercial of all time?
- Surely the biggest robbery of all time was the $ 900m that the Dome stole from lottery funds?
- That's the biggest understatement of all time!
- You could call that round the biggest fluke of all time...
- But they will be in costume, and all party goers will have a chance to vote on the best disguise.
- They also voted the Cappuccino the best sub-£20,000 sports car in the show.
- And, David, with the best will in the world, you can't teach him.
- Even with the best will in the world, we could not do it.
- A former miner, Joe was presented with a cheque together with good wishes for a long and happy retirement.
- And while babies are on my mind, my best wishes to Patsy Kensit on the birth of her son.
- Meanwhile, may I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for the coming year.
- My best wishes to Madame Zborowska and warm greetings to you.
- Our best wishes to his family and friends.
- She hadn't deserved their kindness, their good wishes - she'd hardly been a boon companion of late.
- Spare me your shock and good wishes.
- With best wishes for success and prosperity.
It works best if you let it warm up first. This can best be described as a series of steps. the best-dressed man in Paris2to the greatest degree SYN most: You know him best – you should ask him. The part I like best is the meal afterwards. He’s perhaps best known for his role in ‘Midnight Cowboy’.3as best you can spoken as well as you can, even if this is not very good: I’ll try and fix it as best I can.4had best spoken ought to: We’d best be getting back. → had better at better2(3)best1 adjectivebest2 adverbbest3 nounbest4 verb
bestbest3 ●●● S2 W2 noun EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- The best is not always the most expensive.
- The acoustics in the auditorium weren't the best, but the audience didn't care.
Longman Language Activatorbetter than all others
better than anything or anyone else: · The best ice cream in the world is made in Italy.· What's the best way to cook sweet potatoes?by far the best/easily the best (=much better than any others): · It was by far the best vacation I've ever had.somebody's best: · I've read most of his books, but 'Mosquito Coast' is easily his best.
the best and most important that there has ever been: · New Yorkers think they live in the greatest city on earth.· Picasso is generally regarded as the greatest artist of the 20th century.· Gorbachev's greatest achievement was ending the Cold War.
the best and highest quality, or the best and most skilful: · Hemingway was the finest American writer of his generation.· The Silver Pavilion is one of the finest examples of Japanese architecture.· Many people regard Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as his finest work.· The gallery's collection of early Impressionist paintings is one of the world's finest.
the best and most suitable: · The ideal candidate will have a degree and at least two years' experience.· I'm afraid the accommodation here is far from ideal.ideal for: · The conditions are ideal for a day's skiing.ideal for doing something: · The town makes an ideal base for exploring the surrounding countryside.
the most skilful, most successful, and most famous: · He is definitely one of the world's top golfers.· The prize is to have your hair done at a top New York salon.
the person who is most successful in their company or in the type of work that they do: · For three years, he was the company's number one salesman.· Sweden's number one model has married American actor Tommy Haines.
: the place/shop/person/authority etc use this to say that something is the best one of its kind. Pronounce it as 'thee' instead of 'thuh': · Manhattan's East Village is the place for exciting nightlife.· Our guest speaker today is the authority on Chinese politics.
the ultimate person or thing is the very best of their type that there has ever been, and it is hard to believe that anything could ever be better: · Monroe was the ultimate Hollywood movie star.· For many people, the Rolling Stones will always be the world's ultimate rock and roll band.the ultimate in: · Our first-class passengers enjoy the ultimate in luxury and service.
the best that can be achieved or the best for a particular purpose - used especially in scientific contexts: · The optimum temperature for producing steel is around 1200C.
the definitive description, study etc is considered to be the best and cannot be improved - use this about a book or piece of work that is the best of its kind: · Griffin is the author of the definitive travel guide 'France at Your Fingertips'.· This may be the definitive book on the Scarlatti trial.· Many people regard it as the definitive interpretation of 'War and Peace'.
formal if something is unsurpassed , nothing else has ever been better - use this about qualities or achievements: · His genius as a dramatist is unsurpassed.· Venice is a city of unsurpassed beauty.
: a record-breaking result, temperature, time etc is the highest, largest, fastest etc that has ever been achieved: · A record-breaking five hundred thousand people attended the festival. · Record-breaking temperatures are being forecast for the weekend.
the best people or things in a group · She was the best in her class at college.· I chose a Japanese camera because I wanted to have the best.the best in his/her field (=the person who knows most about a particular subject) · When it comes to cancer research, Professor Williams is probably the best in her field.
the best player in a team, the best student in a class etc: · Sonya's the class star.star of: · They're all strong players, but Laura's undoubtedly the star of the team.star player/performer/student/pupil etc: · Woodward continues to be the Post's star reporter.
the small number of people who are the very best in a particular group, because they are the most intelligent or the most highly skilled: · The cream of India's scientists are being attracted abroad by highly paid jobs.the cream of the crop (=the best people or things in a particular group): · Universities such as Harvard accept only the cream of the crop.
: elite troops/group/college etc a group of people who are the best, and most highly trained or educated: · The palace is guarded by elite troops loyal to the president.· In 1978 he joined the CRS, France's elite corps of riot police.
also the pick of the bunch British informal the one that you think is the best among a group of people or things, especially a small group: · This last poem's my favorite -- definitely the pick of the bunch.· They've come out with several good wines this year, but in my opinion the chardonnay is the best of the bunch.
the best part of something also the best bit British informal the best part of something such as an occasion, event etc: · The best part of the movie is the ending.· What was the best part of your vacation?
the best and most exciting part of something such as a journey, a film, or a period of time: · When I was young, Christmas was the highlight of the year.· We were looking forward to seeing the pyramids, which promised to be the highlight of our trip.
the best part of something, or the best moment of something: · The two days we spent in Granada were the high point of our trip.· Winning the 1994 World Championship was probably the high point of his career.
the best and most impressive part of something that someone has made, especially a meal: · And now for my pièce de résistance -- wild mushrooms cooked in red wine.
when you do something better than you have ever done before when you are at your best you are performing at your highest level of skill: · At his best, he's one of the most exciting tennis players in the world.· This recording captures Grappelli at his very best.
British /be in top form American if someone who is good at doing something is on top form , they are doing it as well as they can: · "Sue gave a really good speech last night.'' "Yes, she was on top form.''· If the Yankees are in top form there is no one that can beat them.
if someone, especially a sports person, is at their peak , they are at the time in their life when they are playing best, running best etc: · Long-distance runners are usually at their peak in their mid-30s.· When he was at his peak, Nicklaus was one of the best golfers there has ever been.
if someone such as a great writer or musician is at the height of their powers , they are doing the best work of their whole life: · When Orwell wrote 'Animal Farm', he was at the height of his powers.· The film shows Jimi Hendrix, at the height of his powers, giving a brilliant version of 'All Along the Watchtower'.
to accept a situation that you do not like to accept a situation that you do not like but you cannot change: · Divorce is hard on children, but they have to accept it.learn/come to accept (=eventually accept): · In the US, people have come to accept that they will probably have several different jobs over the course of their career.accept the fact (that): · It was difficult for Paul to accept the fact that he was going bald.accept that: · Steptoe finally accepted that his son didn't want to continue working in the family business.
to accept an annoying situation or someone's annoying behaviour, without trying to stop it or change it: · I don't know how you put up with this noise day after day.· The kind of treatment that you have to put up with as a new army recruit is pretty horrible.
to accept an unpleasant situation, without trying to change it: · For years the workers have had to tolerate low wages and terrible working conditions.· I told him I wasn't going to tolerate his drinking any longer.
to realize that you must accept an unpleasant situation, because you cannot prevent it or avoid it: · The children have had to resign themselves to being without their father.resign yourself to the fact (that): · I'm resigned to the fact that I'm not going to get the job.
to accept a situation that you do not like, and try to enjoy it or make it less bad: · It's not the university that I really wanted to go to, but I suppose I'll just have to make the best of it.· Six months after the earthquake, city residents continue to make the best of a bad situation.
to accept an unpleasant or difficult situation and say that you will deal with it: · It's not easy, but as a manager, sometimes you have to bite the bullet and fire people.
spoken said when you have to accept something you do not like because you do not have the money or power to choose anything else: · It would be nice to have a suit with a better fit, but as they say, beggars can't be choosers.
spoken said when telling someone that a difficult situation must be accepted, especially because there is no way to prevent it or there is nothing anyone can do about it: · "Sorry you didn't get the job, Mike." "Yeah, thanks. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles."
to accept a situation or job you do not like and try to deal with it in a determined way: · Rescue workers here have little choice but to grit their teeth and get on with the grim task of recovering the bodies.· I was desperately unhappy in that job, but had to grit my teeth and stay smiling for the sake of my children.
to hope that something will happen or that something is true · See you soon, I hope!· Even when everyone else thought he was dead, Julie never stopped hoping.hope (that) · We hurried out of the building, hoping that no one would see us leave.hope to do something · Bob's hoping to travel to Africa next year.hope for · I'm hoping for a better salary in my next job.I hope so spoken · "Have we got enough money for the rent?'' "I don't know. I hope so.''hope and pray · She could only hope and pray that Liza would be back to her normal self the next time she saw her.
hoping that something good is likely to happen: · We don't know if Gascoigne will be fit to play in Saturday's game, but we're all hopeful.hopeful (that): · I'm quite hopeful that I'll get the job.hopeful about: · James felt more hopeful about his future after his chat with his professor.be hopeful of (doing) something British: · The local police are hopeful of catching those responsible for the graffiti.
use this to say that you hope that something will happen the way you want, when you cannot do anything to affect what happens: · "Have you had your test results yet?'' "No. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.''· Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this idea of yours works.
to hope that a situation will end well, when it is possible that something might go wrong: · He never uses a recipe. He just throws all kinds of food into a pan and hopes for the best.· Every expectant mother goes into labour hoping for the best
British /in hopes that American if you do something in the hope that it will have a good result, you do it because you hope it will make something good happen: · He showed me a photo of his wife, in the hope that I might have seen her.· He was rejecting Nancy in hopes that something better might develop with Lydia.
hoping and expecting that everything will happen in the best way possible: · Although his lawyers were optimistic, they couldn't be sure about the final outcome of the trial.· The Democrats went into this election in an optimistic mood.optimistic about: · I am very optimistic about the future of our company.cautiously optimistic (=optimistic, but realizing that a good result is not definite): · The patient is still in a critical condition but doctors say they are cautiously optimistic that he will make a full recovery.
to hope that one particular thing will happen, because your happiness or all your other plans depend on this: · Sue is pinning all her hopes on getting this job.· ''I do hope she remembers.'' ''Don't pin your hopes on it'', warned David.
to be very hopeful and excited about something, so that you would be very disappointed if it did not happen: have high hopes of doing something: · Sam has high hopes of going to university next year.· Despite our differences, we came here with high hopes of signing a new treaty.have high hopes for: · Japanese car manufacturers have high hopes for increased profits in Europe.
what you say when you think something is true, but you are not sure spoken · She'll be here about 9, I think.I think (that) · I think the dog must have eaten it.I think so · "Is Matthew still here?" "I think so -- I've just seen him."I would think so · "Will Jenny be at the meeting?" "I would think so."
spoken say this when you think that something is probably true but you are not really sure: · Having a burglar alarm makes you feel safer, I suppose.I suppose (that): · I suppose we can pay by credit card but we'd better check first.I suppose so (=say this to answer a question): · "Will the children be disappointed?" "Yes, I suppose so."
especially American, spoken say this when you think that something is probably true but you are not really sure: · Rob just got tired of living with her, I guess.I guess (that): · I guess this is the best way to do it.I guess so: · "Is the truck safe to drive now?" "I guess so."
to start to think something is a fact because of various things that happen, because of the way someone is behaving etc: get the impression/feeling/idea (that): · I got the impression she was actually quite nervous about it.· Walking down the main street, you get the feeling that nothing ever happens in this town.· I don't want you to get the idea that I don't like him.get this/that idea: · "He thinks you're angry with them." "Where on earth did he get that idea?"
spoken say this when you think that something is true, although you realize that you may not know all the facts: · As far as I know, Caroline's never been married.· Alaska doesn't have any drilling sites off the coast, as far as I know.
spoken say this when you think that something is likely to be true, although what you say is only based on your opinion: I imagine (that): · I imagine she's stuck in a traffic jam or something.I would imagine (that): · I would imagine that Libby could help you - she knows a lot about legal things.
spoken say this when you want to make it clear that there may be things you do not know about a situation: · As far as I am aware, Mr Cusner and his family are still living in Cleveland, Ohio.
formal spoken say this when you want to make it clear that you are not completely sure about the statement you are making: · To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that anyone has translated these poems into English.
spoken say this when you think that something is true and you are asking someone else to tell you that you are right: I take it (that): · I take it that you're Rob's sister?· So can we take it that you'll be at the meeting?· You've made plans for the future, I take it?
to try as hard as you can · Come on, try as hard as you can!· I tried as hard as I could, but I still couldn't get everything into one suitcase.try as hard as you can to do something · She tried as hard as she could to look interested.
to try as hard as you can, even when the situation is difficult and you are not sure if you will succeed: · I don't know if I'll manage to get everything finished by Friday, but I'll certainly do my best.do/try your best to do something: · Harry did his best to sound calm, but it was obvious that he was really annoyed.· She tried her best not to laugh.
to try as hard as you can to do something, even though it is difficult or you do not have enough time, money etc to do it really well: · It's a very tough exam but just do the best you can.· More medical supplies will be arriving next week -- until then, doctors and nurses must do the best they can.do the best you can to do something: · I did the best I could to make him change his mind, but he refused.
informal to do everything possible to make an event, celebration, competition etc successful: · They gave me a great leaving party - they really pulled out all the stops.· If we pull out all the stops we should still be able to meet our deadline.
informal to try to do something as well as you can, even though you do not have all the necessary skills or equipment: · I'm not promising I'll succeed, but I'll give it my best shot.
to try as much as you possibly can, and for as long as possible, to achieve something very difficult: · We have done our utmost. There is no more we could possibly do.do your utmost to do something: · The Secretary of State assured reporters that the Administration was doing its utmost to avoid war.
to use every possible method to try to do something: · I'm trying to help -- I'm doing everything I possibly can.· I did everything I could to raise money, including selling my house.· Her mother did all she could to encourage Tracy to study medicine.
to use all your energy and determination to achieve something that is personally very important to you: · She gave her all in the last race, but it wasn't quite good enough to win.
if you do something as best you can , especially something difficult or unpleasant, you try as hard as you can to do it because you cannot change the situation: · I cleaned the car up as best I could, but it still looked a mess.· We'll have to manage as best we can without you.
if you do something to the best of your ability , you do it as well as you can, even if you are not sure that you are doing it very well: · I have always done my work to the best of my ability.· All the children competed and performed to the best of their ability.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY We wish him the best of luck with this venture. He hasn’t been in the best of health lately. They didn’t part on the best of terms. They became the best of friends (=very close friends). We’d just like to wish him all the best in his new job.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES His new book went straight to number one on the best-seller list. Despite our best endeavours, we couldn’t start the car. Liam decided to ignore the warning and just hope for the best (=hope that a situation will end well when there is a risk of things going wrong). advice on how best (=the best way) to invest your money Hepburn is best known for (=people are most likely to be familiar with) her roles in classic films such as ‘My Fair Lady’. The time I like best (=like most of all) is the evening when it’s cool. Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area. He’s good mates with John. I wasn’t criticizing you, I really meant it for the best (=wanted to be helpful, although my actions had the wrong effect). I’m not going to settle for second best. We only use the very best ingredients. Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.
We wish him the best of luck with this venture. He hasn’t been in the best of health lately. They didn’t part on the best of terms. They became the best of friends (=very close friends). We’d just like to wish him all the best in his new job.· Ian McEwan is a best-selling author.
· We use the best available technology.
His new book went straight to number one on the best-seller list.· They wore their best clothes for the photograph.
Despite our best endeavours, we couldn’t start the car. (=the friend you like the most)· Fiona was her best friend.
(=one that you think is most likely to be right)· My best guess is that it will take around six months.
· In his best handwriting, he wrote, 'Happy Father’s Day, Dad'.
Liam decided to ignore the warning and just hope for the best (=hope that a situation will end well when there is a risk of things going wrong). advice on how best (=the best way) to invest your money (=intentions to do something good or kind, especially when you do not succeed in doing it) He thinks the minister is full of good intentions that won’t be carried out.
He thinks the minister is full of good intentions that won’t be carried out. (=think that something is the best thing to do)· Robert wanted to go and help him, but judged it best to stay where he was.
· Not knowing what had happened to her was the worst kind of torture.
· This is hypocrisy of the worst kind.
Hepburn is best known for (=people are most likely to be familiar with) her roles in classic films such as ‘My Fair Lady’. (=plans that have been made carefully) Bad weather can upset even the best-laid travel plans.
Bad weather can upset even the best-laid travel plans. The time I like best (=like most of all) is the evening when it’s cool. (=the best, greatest etc who has been alive at any time) He’s probably the best journalist who ever lived.
He’s probably the best journalist who ever lived. Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area. He’s good mates with John. I wasn’t criticizing you, I really meant it for the best (=wanted to be helpful, although my actions had the wrong effect).· Is this really the best means of achieving our goal?
British English It’s much the best way to do it.
It’s much the best way to do it.· The worst part was having to work even when it was raining.
British English (=the best thing to do)· I think the best plan is to take the train.
(=used when you do not understand someone’s behaviour)· For reasons best known to herself, she decided to sell the house.
(=used when you are unsure if you remember correctly) To the best of my recollection, she drives a Mercedes. No one, to my recollection, gave a second thought to the risks involved.
To the best of my recollection, she drives a Mercedes. No one, to my recollection, gave a second thought to the risks involved.· Let's look at the map and work out the best route.
I’m not going to settle for second best. (=lose a game or competition, or not be as successful as someone else)
· Locking people in prison is not necessarily the ideal solution.
(=make as much effort as possible)· Try your best to block out other distractions.
We only use the very best ingredients.· Doing the job is often regarded as the best way of learning the job.
· We want to become the best team in the world.
· It is the world’s largest car manufacturer.
Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► with the best of intentions/for the best of reasons► the best of a bad lot/bunch► your Sunday best► to the best of your knowledge/belief/ability etcPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► at your best/worst/most effective etc► your best bib and tucker► somebody had better/best do something► somebody knows best► man’s best friend► the best/biggest etc ... this side of something► your Sunday best► your/her/my etc Sunday best
1the best a)the most helpful, most successful etc situation or results that you can achieve: - At the best of times, the industry is very competitive, but this is not the best of times.
- But Black Mountain was often not the best of all possible worlds.
- But they clearly were not the best of their time, and that should be the No. 1 voting criterion.
- He is the first to admit that he was not the best of patients.
- Obviously, not the best of plans.
- Seb was not the best of patients.
- Job-sharing gives me the best of both worlds - I can be with my children and keep my professional status.
- All in all, a great place to enjoy the best of both worlds.
- An arrangement like this can often be the best of both worlds.
- And taking into account the prices of both the ME-6 and ME-10 they really are the best of both worlds.
- But if the eye can remain open without being seen, then the prey has the best of both worlds.
- Supporters say this type of extended day is the best of both worlds.
- This is the best of both worlds.
- Used in conjunction with a moisturising conditioner, it will give your lank locks the best of both worlds.
- You get the best of both worlds in a job like this: use your strong back and your agile mind.
- At his best, he's one of the most exciting tennis players in the world.
- This recording captures Grappelli at his very best.
- And if I sometimes see them at their worst, I sometimes see them at their best as well.
- Augusta was not at her best yesterday on a drab, grey day.
- But like Natalie Merchant, Cerbone is at her best when composing character sketches.
- Still, quarterbacks are not at their best when their throwing motion is impeded.
- The answer, in brief, is the method of empirical inquiry, at its best the method of science.
- The early 1960s showed such policy at its best.
- The formal work of the House is often seen at its best in committee.
- The Machine is at its best in primaries, but Daley was taking no chances.
- It's not going to be fun, but we might as well make the best of it.
- A good travel partner laughs and makes the best of it.
- For the most part, however, he made the best of contemporary information.
- In these circumstances one makes the best of limited information.
- Jack made the best of his bad luck at being captured and found plenty to occupy his time.
- One has to make the best of a situation, after all.
- When Miihlenberg learned that it was indeed a free country, he made the best of things.
- Yet despite her palpable alienation from suburban stay-at-home motherhood, she is determined to make the best of it.
- I chose a Japanese camera because I wanted to have the best.
- She's the best of the new young writers.
- She was the best in her class at college.
- When it comes to cancer research, Professor Williams is probably the best in her field.
- Tell him I said goodbye and wish him all the best.
- A facility that's said to represent all the best in car manufacturing worldwide.
- He wanted to give it all the best that was in him, of which he had more than he needed.
- In fact they are regularly seen around all the best joints.
- Maybe it was true that the Devil got all the best lines.
- On the surface, at least, Bonita Vista has all the best qualities of a racially diverse campus.
- The movement has got all the best stories, even if it's a little short on facts.
- They came, all the best and noblest, to join the company.
- They still kept almost all the best in-state players.
- Even at the best of times the roads are dangerous.
- A salmon is slippery enough to handle at the best of times, but one of this size ...
- But reason told her it was a precarious business at the best of times.
- In fact Polanski, unconventional at the best of times, takes us to the limit - and beyond.
- It was run on a shoestring at the best of times and Kelly was merely adding to his problems.
- Listening is a difficult and complex skill at the best of times.
- Memory was mischievously selective at the best of times Trivia stuck limpet-like and the useful filtered away.
- Rising living standards and well-being are ambiguously related at the best of times, and not simply for ecological reasons.
- The mind was a delicate mechanism that he disliked interfering with at the best of times.
- Even though I lost my job, I knew it was for the best. It gave me the chance to start again.
- After all, it may be for the best.
- Anything that spurs creativity behind the bar must be for the best.
- He can smell nothing, which is for the best.
- I decided to decide that it was for the best.
- It may well be for the best.
- Maybe it is for the best.
- No one has been so heartless as to suggest we skip the picnic, but it is for the best.
- Still, perhaps it was for the best.
- But I did my best to feed them both.
- He wanted to do his best the first time he performed, and knew he was not in peak condition.
- Like Truman two decades earlier, Humphrey did his best to overcome the severe handicap of a badly split party.
- Once there, Drachenfels will do his best to isolate the crystal-wielding characters and rob them of their treasures.
- Remember, always do your best, don't let them hook you, however tempting the bait.
- We can only do our best.
- What I learned from them specifically of the techniques of teaching I have had to do my best to unlearn since.
- At best, sales have been good but not great.
- Public transportation is at best limited.
- All the children competed and performed to the best of their ability.
- I have always done my work to the best of my ability.
- Dinner was very formal, with everyone on their best behaviour.
- And if what Cadfael suspected was indeed true, he had now good reason to be on his best behaviour.
- But everyone is on their best behaviour.
- So when we arrived hopefully at Loch Hope that morning, I was on my best behaviour.
- Use only our own girls and warn them to be on their best behaviour.
- For getting around the city centre, a bicycle's your best bet.
- We decided that our best bet was to leave him where he was and go and get help.
- Well, your best bet would be to go back to Highway 218 and turn left.
- Ingram always seems to bring out the best in his players.
- And Vince was obviously a great coach; he brought out the best in his team and whoever played him.
- But the Washington Wizards have a way of bringing out the best in their opponents.
- But, says Markert, there is something about one-way communication that can also bring out the worst in people.
- Campaigns seem to bring out the worst in Bob Dole.
- It brings out the best in us.
- Maybe something like they tend to bring out the best in us.
- So, to bring out the best in your cooking make sure you use the purest soy sauce, Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
- Yet it was not an unsuccessful attempt to bring out the best in his audience.
- But me third was the best of the bunch.
- Either they are one of the best of the bunch at home, or they make their name abroad.
- Even these modest broadcasts show only the best of the bunch.
- He may be the best of the bunch.
- It's also the best of the bunch for multi-processing, he says.
- Nevertheless as an introduction it is the best of the bunch.
- Woolwich is the best of the bunch, trading at a multiple to future earnings of 10.3.
- And perhaps it was time to play the trump card up his sleeve.
- In the struggle for development, every economy has certain advantages or trump cards.
- Parents must recognize that if a child does not want to do homework, the child holds the trump card.
- That night, though, our sincerity was our trump card.
- That was why Gorbachev wanted to negotiate-and that is why, in my opinion, President Reagan was holding the trump card.
- The citizens of Hebron, by contrast, hold all the trump cards.
- This was one of the trump cards of News International in its dispute with the print workers in 1986-87.
- We had beaten him, but he played a final trump card.
- Alec Davidson, for example, was one of those who came off worst.
- Bullock comes off best because her complaining seems so valid.
- His foster-child comes off best, but in addition each of two nurses receives a tenth of his estate.
- It may seem, so far, that in terms of clearly defined benefits, the client comes off best out of the deal.
- Prior to that Meath had come off best when they accounted for Down in the 1990 league decider.
- The lightning, it seemed to Lydia, had undoubtedly come off best in that encounter.
- The problem is that history sometimes comes off better.
- Aluminium benching is easily the best, as it virtually lasts for ever and is easily cleaned.
- He's easily the best military brain in the country.
- It's easily the best Fermanagh side I've played on.
- It gave easily the best value.
- Johnny Hero played the between set music - again proving that he hosts easily the best disco in town.
- Natural gas forms easily the biggest world reserve of methane-rich fuel.
- The greens were easily the best part of the dish.
- The pension is easily the biggest single cash benefit.
- A few hundred metres off-shore we congregate so that Tor can explain the best way of going ashore.
- Are the best bargains going to petrol buyers?
- But in those years, they were always the team with the best record going into the playoffs.
- Its got to be the best ticket office going.
- Perhaps the biggest thing going was the harp played by JoAnn Turovsky, sounding positively, well, huge.
- There was a wide range of scores with the best individual score going to George McCallum of Douglas Reyburn with 37 points.
- This, so I was led to believe, was the best it was going to get.
- What is the best way of going forward? - Ideas from within I hear you say!
- Advocates just seem to take it on faith that annexation is the only hope of salvation for this city.
- But mad or not, you are my only hope, Meg.
- But Thomas Sachs was now her only hope.
- I expected to be disappointed, though the letter was now my only hope.
- In the long term, Mr Heseltine said that privatisation was the only hope for the industry.
- Is he only hoping to make money?
- Robert Urquhart was her only hope, her only ally.
- That was the only hope I had of reaching the doctor.
- Even so he did his level best with the new ball.
- We did our level best to look fascinated.
- Best of luck with your driving test.
- Good luck Archie! Enjoy your new job.
- But had we sat down with her, we would have wished her good luck.
- Everyone wished each other good luck and Mould, Matron and Endill headed off to the library.
- I wish him luck and hope that after a couple of years he is transferred back!
- James wished me good luck and dashed off home.
- Lineker and Paul Gascoigne have both been in touch with Spurs to wish them good luck for the new season.
- She wishes me luck, opens the door to the bathroom, and disappears into a cloud of steam.
- Well, I wish you luck.
- Yet at the start of the day both sides had wished each other luck.
- Laughter is the best medicine.
- A former teacher at Longlands College, Middlesbrough, Pat always believes in laughter as the best medicine for loneliness.
- Besides, it is the best medicine.
- Having Louella come and live with me will be the best medicine in the world.
- Recovery is the best medicine for the market, but it must be sustainable.
- He can't ask them, so he is doing the next best thing.
- I guess they figured calling their game Arnie was the next best thing to having a blockbusting movie title.
- It is the next best thing to crossing the deserts of the world oneself.
- The new switch is the next best thing we could do to moving.
- The room is the next best thing to being outside.
- Video may seem like the next best thing to being there, but electronically mediated interactions are different from real-life meetings.
- We do, however, have the next best thing: a place to go for more information.
- We went to the bookshelves to find the next best thing.
- Almost any child will assert that recess is the best part of the school day.
- Another child makes the family wretched with his crying for the better part of an hour.
- Converse drank the better part of the rum.
- For the better part of the next forty years they were to be the decisive restraints.
- I spent the better part of my time moping around the house, too dejected to think about practicing my stunts.
- It is not widely taught or particularly popular be-cause it takes the better part of a lifetime to master.
- This was it, the confrontation-point which he had been dreading for the best part of a week.
- But I still ran 20.51 seconds for a personal best, so I was happy.
- Conrad Allen came up trumps again, finishing fourth in the boys 800 metres in a personal best 2 mins. 22.
- Fredericks' 19. 68 was 0. 14 seconds lower than his personal best.
- His personal best before this season was 10. 08.
- I next ran at Oslo where I set a personal best for 200 metres, so that was encouraging.
- Ron and I take each year as it comes and we always plan for me to run a personal best every season.
- Sammy also collected a 50 freestyle bronze with 31.44-a personal best along with her 43.95 in the 50 breaststroke.
- That means that their motives are clean and their actions represent their personal best.
- Any successful entrepreneurial venture starts with making sure that the entrepreneur is in the best possible mental and physical health.
- But the psychologist was never confident that he had obtained the best possible scores from Nelson.
- For a moment, I imagined the best possible to the worst possible reply.
- Obviously, the purpose is to ensure that the best possible pensions arrangements are reached.
- That way it will have the best possible start in life.
- The additional value farmers receive is the best possible free advice on both inputs and marketing.
- The horrifying news sent the Ciprianos on a nationwide search to find the best possible treatment for their daughter.
- This at once enhances the contribution which the court or parents can make towards reaching the best possible decision in all the circumstances.
- An annex citing examples of good practice would also be helpful.
- Carlesimo said Tuesday, adding that Marshall had just put in his best practice of camp.
- It is good practice to make a note of the client's telephone number on the file.
- Supporters of those with special needs should be exemplars of such good practice.
- The good practice presented in Table 2 and Appendix 3 addresses many of the factors important to the control of risk.
- There is a danger in the search for good practice of looking only at those schools with good academic records.
- These premises are often inadequate to support good practice.
- This week, for example, the permanent secretaries of all government departments will meet to discuss best practice in procurement.
- He sends his best wishes to everybody at home.
- Mr Mason sends his best wishes for the success of the event.
- I'm not promising I'll succeed, but I'll give it my best shot.
- Hopefully he can recover and regain his test place and give it his best shot.
- I'd have given it my best shot, and that was all anyone could demand from me.
- I just have a feeling that we have given it our best shot.
- The band gave it their best shot, until the arrival of the blue meanies put an end to the proceedings.
- You were never entirely safe from prying fingers in Chinatown, but I had to give it my best shot.
- Now, I didn't get it because I was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- Boar chops are best suited to grilling or sauteing.
- If I were a free agent, those are the places I would go, a place best suited for my needs.
- It is not however so well suited to an intensive, detailed study of spoken language.
- Nevertheless, it is an early maturing variety well suited to the long ripening period of a northern wine region.
- Secondly, the adversary nature of the adjudicative process may not be well suited to this area.
- The farmer's wife was well suited to tackling this considerable undertaking.
- Use the systems best suited to their talent, both offensively and defensively.
- We have large quantities of plutonium already separated and in forms ideally suited for nuclear weapons.
- Ellie's the type of person that always thinks the best of people.
- He thought the worst of Mitch and clearly thought that left to herself she would ring London at once.
- I was so ready to think the worst of him, she wailed inwardly.
- My immediate reaction, whether it be a man or a woman, is to think the worst of them.
- The prospect of Guy leaving, thinking the worst of her, was unbearable.
- Why should you think the worst of me?
- You always think the worst of me.
- And seeing as it was my brainchild, would you not say it was possibly the best commercial of all time?
- Surely the biggest robbery of all time was the $ 900m that the Dome stole from lottery funds?
- That's the biggest understatement of all time!
- You could call that round the biggest fluke of all time...
- But they will be in costume, and all party goers will have a chance to vote on the best disguise.
- They also voted the Cappuccino the best sub-£20,000 sports car in the show.
- And, David, with the best will in the world, you can't teach him.
- Even with the best will in the world, we could not do it.
- A former miner, Joe was presented with a cheque together with good wishes for a long and happy retirement.
- And while babies are on my mind, my best wishes to Patsy Kensit on the birth of her son.
- Meanwhile, may I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for the coming year.
- My best wishes to Madame Zborowska and warm greetings to you.
- Our best wishes to his family and friends.
- She hadn't deserved their kindness, their good wishes - she'd hardly been a boon companion of late.
- Spare me your shock and good wishes.
- With best wishes for success and prosperity.
We all want the best for our children. It’s the best we can do in the circumstances. b)the person or thing that is better than any other: She’s the best of the new young writers.2do your best to try as hard as you can to do something: As long as you do your best, we’ll be happy.do your best to do something She did her best to make him comfortable.3at best used to emphasize that something is not very good, pleasant, honest etc even if you consider it in the best possible way: The campaign was at best only partially successful. The technique is at best ineffective and at worst dangerous.4to the best of your knowledge/belief/ability etc used to say that something is as much as you know, believe, or are able to do: I’m sure he’ll do the work to the best of his ability.5the best of something used to refer to something very good: We wish him the best of luck with this venture. He hasn’t been in the best of health lately. They didn’t part on the best of terms. They became the best of friends (=very close friends).6with the best of intentions/for the best of reasons used to mean that someone does something with good intentions or for good reasons, even if the result is not always good: I’m sure he went there with the best of intentions.7the best of both worlds a situation in which you have the advantages of two different things without any of the disadvantages: They live in a village but it’s only an hour from London, so they have the best of both worlds.8at your best performing as well or effectively as you are able to: At her best, she’s a really stylish player. He was never at his best early in the morning.9make the best of something (also make the best of a bad job/situation etc British English) to accept a situation that is not very good, and do whatever you can to make it better: We are stuck here, so we might as well make the best of it.10all the best used to express good wishes to someone for the future: We’d just like to wish him all the best in his new job.best for All the best for the New Year!11at the best of times if something is not very good, pleasant etc at the best of times, it is usually even worse than this: It’s crowded at the best of times, but today it was unbearable.12the best of a bad lot/bunch British English the least bad person or thing in a group of not very good people or things13be for the best especially spoken used to say that a particular event may seem bad now, but might have a good result later: I still don’t want him to go, but maybe it’s for the best.14your Sunday best old-fashioned your best clothes, that you only wear on special occasionsbest1 adjectivebest2 adverbbest3 nounbest4 verb
bestbest4 verb [transitive] VERB TABLE
best
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | best |
| he, she, it | bests | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | bested |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have bested |
| he, she, it | has bested | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had bested |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will best |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have bested |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am besting |
| he, she, it | is besting | |
| you, we, they | are besting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was besting |
| you, we, they | were besting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been besting |
| he, she, it | has been besting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been besting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be besting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been besting |
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES His new book went straight to number one on the best-seller list. Despite our best endeavours, we couldn’t start the car. Liam decided to ignore the warning and just hope for the best (=hope that a situation will end well when there is a risk of things going wrong). advice on how best (=the best way) to invest your money Hepburn is best known for (=people are most likely to be familiar with) her roles in classic films such as ‘My Fair Lady’. The time I like best (=like most of all) is the evening when it’s cool. Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area. He’s good mates with John. I wasn’t criticizing you, I really meant it for the best (=wanted to be helpful, although my actions had the wrong effect). I’m not going to settle for second best. We only use the very best ingredients. Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.
· Ian McEwan is a best-selling author.
· We use the best available technology.
His new book went straight to number one on the best-seller list.· They wore their best clothes for the photograph.
Despite our best endeavours, we couldn’t start the car. (=the friend you like the most)· Fiona was her best friend.
(=one that you think is most likely to be right)· My best guess is that it will take around six months.
· In his best handwriting, he wrote, 'Happy Father’s Day, Dad'.
Liam decided to ignore the warning and just hope for the best (=hope that a situation will end well when there is a risk of things going wrong). advice on how best (=the best way) to invest your money (=intentions to do something good or kind, especially when you do not succeed in doing it) He thinks the minister is full of good intentions that won’t be carried out.
He thinks the minister is full of good intentions that won’t be carried out. (=think that something is the best thing to do)· Robert wanted to go and help him, but judged it best to stay where he was.
· Not knowing what had happened to her was the worst kind of torture.
· This is hypocrisy of the worst kind.
Hepburn is best known for (=people are most likely to be familiar with) her roles in classic films such as ‘My Fair Lady’. (=plans that have been made carefully) Bad weather can upset even the best-laid travel plans.
Bad weather can upset even the best-laid travel plans. The time I like best (=like most of all) is the evening when it’s cool. (=the best, greatest etc who has been alive at any time) He’s probably the best journalist who ever lived.
He’s probably the best journalist who ever lived. Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area. He’s good mates with John. I wasn’t criticizing you, I really meant it for the best (=wanted to be helpful, although my actions had the wrong effect).· Is this really the best means of achieving our goal?
British English It’s much the best way to do it.
It’s much the best way to do it.· The worst part was having to work even when it was raining.
British English (=the best thing to do)· I think the best plan is to take the train.
(=used when you do not understand someone’s behaviour)· For reasons best known to herself, she decided to sell the house.
(=used when you are unsure if you remember correctly) To the best of my recollection, she drives a Mercedes. No one, to my recollection, gave a second thought to the risks involved.
To the best of my recollection, she drives a Mercedes. No one, to my recollection, gave a second thought to the risks involved.· Let's look at the map and work out the best route.
I’m not going to settle for second best. (=lose a game or competition, or not be as successful as someone else)
· Locking people in prison is not necessarily the ideal solution.
(=make as much effort as possible)· Try your best to block out other distractions.
We only use the very best ingredients.· Doing the job is often regarded as the best way of learning the job.
· We want to become the best team in the world.
· It is the world’s largest car manufacturer.
Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► at your best/worst/most effective etc► your best bib and tucker► somebody had better/best do something► somebody knows best► man’s best friend► the best/biggest etc ... this side of something► your Sunday best► your/her/my etc Sunday best
old-fashioned to defeat someone- All the children competed and performed to the best of their ability.
- I have always done my work to the best of my ability.
- Dinner was very formal, with everyone on their best behaviour.
- And if what Cadfael suspected was indeed true, he had now good reason to be on his best behaviour.
- But everyone is on their best behaviour.
- So when we arrived hopefully at Loch Hope that morning, I was on my best behaviour.
- Use only our own girls and warn them to be on their best behaviour.
- For getting around the city centre, a bicycle's your best bet.
- We decided that our best bet was to leave him where he was and go and get help.
- Well, your best bet would be to go back to Highway 218 and turn left.
- Ingram always seems to bring out the best in his players.
- And Vince was obviously a great coach; he brought out the best in his team and whoever played him.
- But the Washington Wizards have a way of bringing out the best in their opponents.
- But, says Markert, there is something about one-way communication that can also bring out the worst in people.
- Campaigns seem to bring out the worst in Bob Dole.
- It brings out the best in us.
- Maybe something like they tend to bring out the best in us.
- So, to bring out the best in your cooking make sure you use the purest soy sauce, Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
- Yet it was not an unsuccessful attempt to bring out the best in his audience.
- But me third was the best of the bunch.
- Either they are one of the best of the bunch at home, or they make their name abroad.
- Even these modest broadcasts show only the best of the bunch.
- He may be the best of the bunch.
- It's also the best of the bunch for multi-processing, he says.
- Nevertheless as an introduction it is the best of the bunch.
- Woolwich is the best of the bunch, trading at a multiple to future earnings of 10.3.
- And perhaps it was time to play the trump card up his sleeve.
- In the struggle for development, every economy has certain advantages or trump cards.
- Parents must recognize that if a child does not want to do homework, the child holds the trump card.
- That night, though, our sincerity was our trump card.
- That was why Gorbachev wanted to negotiate-and that is why, in my opinion, President Reagan was holding the trump card.
- The citizens of Hebron, by contrast, hold all the trump cards.
- This was one of the trump cards of News International in its dispute with the print workers in 1986-87.
- We had beaten him, but he played a final trump card.
- Alec Davidson, for example, was one of those who came off worst.
- Bullock comes off best because her complaining seems so valid.
- His foster-child comes off best, but in addition each of two nurses receives a tenth of his estate.
- It may seem, so far, that in terms of clearly defined benefits, the client comes off best out of the deal.
- Prior to that Meath had come off best when they accounted for Down in the 1990 league decider.
- The lightning, it seemed to Lydia, had undoubtedly come off best in that encounter.
- The problem is that history sometimes comes off better.
- Aluminium benching is easily the best, as it virtually lasts for ever and is easily cleaned.
- He's easily the best military brain in the country.
- It's easily the best Fermanagh side I've played on.
- It gave easily the best value.
- Johnny Hero played the between set music - again proving that he hosts easily the best disco in town.
- Natural gas forms easily the biggest world reserve of methane-rich fuel.
- The greens were easily the best part of the dish.
- The pension is easily the biggest single cash benefit.
- A few hundred metres off-shore we congregate so that Tor can explain the best way of going ashore.
- Are the best bargains going to petrol buyers?
- But in those years, they were always the team with the best record going into the playoffs.
- Its got to be the best ticket office going.
- Perhaps the biggest thing going was the harp played by JoAnn Turovsky, sounding positively, well, huge.
- There was a wide range of scores with the best individual score going to George McCallum of Douglas Reyburn with 37 points.
- This, so I was led to believe, was the best it was going to get.
- What is the best way of going forward? - Ideas from within I hear you say!
- Advocates just seem to take it on faith that annexation is the only hope of salvation for this city.
- But mad or not, you are my only hope, Meg.
- But Thomas Sachs was now her only hope.
- I expected to be disappointed, though the letter was now my only hope.
- In the long term, Mr Heseltine said that privatisation was the only hope for the industry.
- Is he only hoping to make money?
- Robert Urquhart was her only hope, her only ally.
- That was the only hope I had of reaching the doctor.
- Even so he did his level best with the new ball.
- We did our level best to look fascinated.
- Best of luck with your driving test.
- Good luck Archie! Enjoy your new job.
- But had we sat down with her, we would have wished her good luck.
- Everyone wished each other good luck and Mould, Matron and Endill headed off to the library.
- I wish him luck and hope that after a couple of years he is transferred back!
- James wished me good luck and dashed off home.
- Lineker and Paul Gascoigne have both been in touch with Spurs to wish them good luck for the new season.
- She wishes me luck, opens the door to the bathroom, and disappears into a cloud of steam.
- Well, I wish you luck.
- Yet at the start of the day both sides had wished each other luck.
- Laughter is the best medicine.
- A former teacher at Longlands College, Middlesbrough, Pat always believes in laughter as the best medicine for loneliness.
- Besides, it is the best medicine.
- Having Louella come and live with me will be the best medicine in the world.
- Recovery is the best medicine for the market, but it must be sustainable.
- He can't ask them, so he is doing the next best thing.
- I guess they figured calling their game Arnie was the next best thing to having a blockbusting movie title.
- It is the next best thing to crossing the deserts of the world oneself.
- The new switch is the next best thing we could do to moving.
- The room is the next best thing to being outside.
- Video may seem like the next best thing to being there, but electronically mediated interactions are different from real-life meetings.
- We do, however, have the next best thing: a place to go for more information.
- We went to the bookshelves to find the next best thing.
- Almost any child will assert that recess is the best part of the school day.
- Another child makes the family wretched with his crying for the better part of an hour.
- Converse drank the better part of the rum.
- For the better part of the next forty years they were to be the decisive restraints.
- I spent the better part of my time moping around the house, too dejected to think about practicing my stunts.
- It is not widely taught or particularly popular be-cause it takes the better part of a lifetime to master.
- This was it, the confrontation-point which he had been dreading for the best part of a week.
- But I still ran 20.51 seconds for a personal best, so I was happy.
- Conrad Allen came up trumps again, finishing fourth in the boys 800 metres in a personal best 2 mins. 22.
- Fredericks' 19. 68 was 0. 14 seconds lower than his personal best.
- His personal best before this season was 10. 08.
- I next ran at Oslo where I set a personal best for 200 metres, so that was encouraging.
- Ron and I take each year as it comes and we always plan for me to run a personal best every season.
- Sammy also collected a 50 freestyle bronze with 31.44-a personal best along with her 43.95 in the 50 breaststroke.
- That means that their motives are clean and their actions represent their personal best.
- Any successful entrepreneurial venture starts with making sure that the entrepreneur is in the best possible mental and physical health.
- But the psychologist was never confident that he had obtained the best possible scores from Nelson.
- For a moment, I imagined the best possible to the worst possible reply.
- Obviously, the purpose is to ensure that the best possible pensions arrangements are reached.
- That way it will have the best possible start in life.
- The additional value farmers receive is the best possible free advice on both inputs and marketing.
- The horrifying news sent the Ciprianos on a nationwide search to find the best possible treatment for their daughter.
- This at once enhances the contribution which the court or parents can make towards reaching the best possible decision in all the circumstances.
- An annex citing examples of good practice would also be helpful.
- Carlesimo said Tuesday, adding that Marshall had just put in his best practice of camp.
- It is good practice to make a note of the client's telephone number on the file.
- Supporters of those with special needs should be exemplars of such good practice.
- The good practice presented in Table 2 and Appendix 3 addresses many of the factors important to the control of risk.
- There is a danger in the search for good practice of looking only at those schools with good academic records.
- These premises are often inadequate to support good practice.
- This week, for example, the permanent secretaries of all government departments will meet to discuss best practice in procurement.
- He sends his best wishes to everybody at home.
- Mr Mason sends his best wishes for the success of the event.
- I'm not promising I'll succeed, but I'll give it my best shot.
- Hopefully he can recover and regain his test place and give it his best shot.
- I'd have given it my best shot, and that was all anyone could demand from me.
- I just have a feeling that we have given it our best shot.
- The band gave it their best shot, until the arrival of the blue meanies put an end to the proceedings.
- You were never entirely safe from prying fingers in Chinatown, but I had to give it my best shot.
- Now, I didn't get it because I was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- Boar chops are best suited to grilling or sauteing.
- If I were a free agent, those are the places I would go, a place best suited for my needs.
- It is not however so well suited to an intensive, detailed study of spoken language.
- Nevertheless, it is an early maturing variety well suited to the long ripening period of a northern wine region.
- Secondly, the adversary nature of the adjudicative process may not be well suited to this area.
- The farmer's wife was well suited to tackling this considerable undertaking.
- Use the systems best suited to their talent, both offensively and defensively.
- We have large quantities of plutonium already separated and in forms ideally suited for nuclear weapons.
- Ellie's the type of person that always thinks the best of people.
- He thought the worst of Mitch and clearly thought that left to herself she would ring London at once.
- I was so ready to think the worst of him, she wailed inwardly.
- My immediate reaction, whether it be a man or a woman, is to think the worst of them.
- The prospect of Guy leaving, thinking the worst of her, was unbearable.
- Why should you think the worst of me?
- You always think the worst of me.
- And seeing as it was my brainchild, would you not say it was possibly the best commercial of all time?
- Surely the biggest robbery of all time was the $ 900m that the Dome stole from lottery funds?
- That's the biggest understatement of all time!
- You could call that round the biggest fluke of all time...
- But they will be in costume, and all party goers will have a chance to vote on the best disguise.
- They also voted the Cappuccino the best sub-£20,000 sports car in the show.
- And, David, with the best will in the world, you can't teach him.
- Even with the best will in the world, we could not do it.
- A former miner, Joe was presented with a cheque together with good wishes for a long and happy retirement.
- And while babies are on my mind, my best wishes to Patsy Kensit on the birth of her son.
- Meanwhile, may I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for the coming year.
- My best wishes to Madame Zborowska and warm greetings to you.
- Our best wishes to his family and friends.
- She hadn't deserved their kindness, their good wishes - she'd hardly been a boon companion of late.
- Spare me your shock and good wishes.
- With best wishes for success and prosperity.