one of the best
276
1.5
- idiom
- LeBron James, he's one of the best athletes of all time.
- one of the best ways
- one of the best examples
- one of the best ever
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeIt was one of the best nights ever.
- It was one of the best nights ever.
- Yeah, you are one of the best chuggers in America.
- This is one of the best sci-fi I have read.
- This is one of the best mascaras that I have.
- And it's, yeah, it's one of the best things I did.
- In fact, water is one of the best solvents on the planet.
- What you saw is one of the best pieces of persuasion.
- Your friend says, I think it was one of the best seasons ever.
- But it's got to be one of the best venues for boxing.
Examples
-
And for these reasons, it is one of the best short stories we have ever read.
Fiction book (1997) -
Zippo, you know, you are one of the best listeners in the world.
-
Beyond the content, I think it's one of the best written books ever.
-
Because back then she was also be one of the best looking women ever.
-
As small as she was, she'd been one of the best players on the girls' team.
Fiction book (1998) -
The small subscription price is one of the best investments you can make in your writing career.
Academic text (2011) -
Maggie Hart is one of the best defense lawyers in the country.
-
It was one of the best nights ever.
-
The oceanography program is nationally recognized as one of the best programs in the United States.
Academic text (1990) -
LeBron James is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players in history.
Synonyms
241
4.5
Among the best or most skilled in a group
9
3.8
Very high quality and lasts a long time
9
6.2
Of very high quality and among the best in its field
7
3.4
The very best people or things in a group
4
3.9
A product that has very high quality and is often the most expensive option
3
3.7
Of the highest quality, better than others like it
1
8.2
A person who is among the best in a field
Very good and the best in quality
Antonyms
How Good
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'one' (a single member) + 'of the' (partitive construction) + 'best' (superlative group) yields 'a single member of the top group', so a learner who knows the words and basic grammar can derive the meaning. This partitive/superlative pattern is common across languages and follows standard English grammar, making it immediately transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
One of the best paints a picture of being one item inside a small group of top things. Imagine a race where only a few people get medals — if you are one of the medal winners, you are among the best, so the phrase means 'among the people or things with the highest quality or skill'.