Best vs Least - What's the difference?
best | least |
(good).
* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
* (John Milton) (1608-1674)
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist), author=Schumpeter
, title= Most; largest.
*(John Milton) (1608-1674)
*:Thou serpent! That name best befits thee.
*(Samuel Taylor Coleridge) (1772-1834)
*:He prayeth best', who loveth ' best / All things both great and small.
*
*:At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy?; and what she liked best' and ' best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.
To the most advantage; with the most success, cause, profit, benefit, or propriety.
*(John Milton) (1608-1674)
*:Had we best retire? I see a storm.
*(William Makepeace Thackeray) (1811-1863)
*:Had I not best go to her?
(uncountable) The supreme effort one can make, or has made.
* {{quote-news, year=2011
, date=September 28
, author=Tom Rostance
, title=Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos
, work=BBC Sport
(countable) The person (or persons) who is (are) most excellent.
something that is best
to surpass in skill or achievement.
To beat in a contest;
* 2010 , T. William Phillips, Restless Heart , page 16
(little);The smallest amount of [something .
* 1857 , (Edmund March Blunt), The American Coast Pilot: Containing Directions for the Principal Harbors , E. & G.W. Blunt, page 135:
* John Duncan, Duncan's Travels
* , chapter=5
, title= *{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
, passage=Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.}}
* 2004 , Jim Baggott, Beyond Measure: Modern Physics, Philosophy, and the Meaning of Quantum Theory , Oxford University Press, page 48:
Used for forming superlatives of adjectives, especially those that do not form the superlative by adding -est .
In the smallest or lowest degree; in a degree below all others.
As adverbs the difference between best and least
is that best is superlative of well POS=adverb while least is used for forming superlatives of adjectives, especially those that do not form the superlative by adding -est.As an adjective best
is superlative of good.As a noun best
is the supreme effort one can make, or has made.As a verb best
is to surpass in skill or achievement.As a proper noun Best
is {{surname}.As a determiner least is
superlative of little;The smallest amount of [something uncountable].best
English
Adjective
(head)- When he is best , he is a little worse than a man.
- Heaven's last, best gift
Cronies and capitols, passage=Policing the relationship between government and business in a free society is difficult.
Derived terms
* bestnessAntonyms
* worstAdverb
(head)Noun
- I did my best .
- My personal best in that race is eighteen minutes, four seconds.
citation, page= , passage=Home defender Per Mertesacker had to be at his best to stop a dangerous cross from Vassilis Torossidis reaching Djebbour, but moments later Arsenal doubled their lead through Santos.}}
Verb
(en verb)- "You did not win because I was sloppy. You bested me, Uncle. I've never seen you fight like that before.”
Antonyms
* To worst.Derived terms
* all for the best * all the best * as best one can * at best * had best * have the best of * get the best of * make the best of * the best part of * with the best * best of the bestStatistics
*Anagrams
* bets 1000 English basic words ----least
English
Determiner
(en-det) (comparative less)- The least water we could find there was 4 fathoms, which bears from the point S.E., and is distant 1½ mile.
- To have demolished and rebuilt the walls, would have been a very costly expedient, and as the least of two evils, the painter's brush was resorted to; here and there however, above some of the windows, the black wreathings of the smoke are still discernible through the white covering.
Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=“Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.}}
- Light does not need to know in advance which is the path of least time because it takes all paths from its source to its destination.
Usage notes
Some grammarians recommend to use least'' only with uncountable nouns, as in the examples above with the ''smallest amount of sense: * 1965 , H. W. Fowler, Fowler’s Modern English Usage: Second Edition : *: [W]hen the context—unemotional statement of everyday facts—is taken into account, at a less price'' ought to be ''at a lower price'', and ''a lesser prize'' ought to be ''a smaller prize . To such grammarians least'' is the superlative of ''a little'', not that of ''little'', so it does not mean ''smallest'', but ''the smallest amount of''. With plural nouns, they recommend ''fewest .Adverb
- It was the least surprising thing.
- to reward those who least deserve it