best
verb/best/
/best/
[usually passive] (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they best | /best/ /best/ |
| he / she / it bests | /bests/ /bests/ |
| past simple bested | /ˈbestɪd/ /ˈbestɪd/ |
| past participle bested | /ˈbestɪd/ /ˈbestɪd/ |
| -ing form besting | /ˈbestɪŋ/ /ˈbestɪŋ/ |
- to defeat or be more successful than somebody
- be bested (by somebody) He was determined not to be bested by his old rival.
- A great colonial power was nearly bested by a few farmers.
Word OriginOld English betest (adjective), betost, betst (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German best, also to better.
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best