Best vs Only - What's the difference?
best | only |
(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
Alone in a category.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-26, author=
, volume=189, issue=7, page=32, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= Singularly Superior; the best.
* (William Shakespeare)
Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender.
* 1949 , and (Ernestine Gilbreth Carey), (Cheaper by the Dozen) , dedication:
(label) Mere.
* , I.40:
Without others or anything further; exclusively.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=
, volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= No more than; just.
* 1949 , Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, (Cheaper by the Dozen) , dedication:
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=20 * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= As recently as.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (obsolete) Above all others; particularly.
* Marston
Under the condition that; but.
However.
But for the fact that; except.
(rare) only child
* 2013 , Sybil L. Hart, ?Maria Legerstee, Handbook of Jealousy
As adjectives the difference between best and only
is that best is superlative of good while only is alone in a category.As adverbs the difference between best and only
is that best is superlative of well POS=adverb while only is without others or anything further; exclusively.As nouns the difference between best and only
is that best is the supreme effort one can make, or has made while only is only child.As a verb best
is to surpass in skill or achievement.As a proper noun Best
is {{surname}.As a conjunction only is
under the condition that; but.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 ----only
English
Alternative forms
* onely (obsolete)Adjective
(-)Nick Miroff
Mexico gets a taste for eating insects, passage=The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile. Only the city zoo offers greater species diversity.}}
- Motley's the only wear.
- To DAD ¶ who only reared twelve children ¶ and ¶ To MOTHER ¶ who reared twelve only children
- I know some who wittingly have drawne both profit and preferment from cuckoldrie, the only name whereof is so yrksome and bail-ful to so many men.
Synonyms
* (alone in a category) sole, lone * (singularly superior) peerless, unequaled, nonpareilDerived terms
* if any * if only * one and only * only child * only game in town * only ifAdverb
(-)Ed Pilkington
‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told, passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
- To DAD
- who only reared twelve children
- and
- To MOTHER
- who reared twelve only children
citation, passage=‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’}}
Engineers of a different kind, passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.}}
Yesterday’s fuel, passage=The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices).}}
- his most only elected mistress
Derived terms
* if and only if * only ifConjunction
(English Conjunctions)Statistics
*Noun
(onlies)- The consistent finding that infants who are onlies do not differ from those who have siblings despite their lesser history of exposure to differential treatment is perplexing.