Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

best

3 noun
     
best3
1

the best

a) the most helpful, most successful etc situation or results that you can achieve:
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.
2

do 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.
3

at 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.
4

to the best of your ability/knowledge/belief 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.
5

not the best of something

used to say that something is not very good or could be better:
He hasn't been in the best of health lately.
They didn't part on the best of terms.
6

with 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.
7

the 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.
8

at 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.
9

make the best of something

to accept a situation which 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.
10

all 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.
all the best for
All the best for the New Year!
11

at 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.
12

the best of a bad lot/bunch

British English the least bad person or thing in a group of not very good people or things
13

be 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.
14

your Sunday best

DCC old-fashioned your best clothes, which you only wear on special occasions
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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