DictionaryAI

favorite

FAYV-rit/ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/

Noun pluralfavorites

UK spellingfavourite

7 meanings of favorite

Practice

  1. 1
    best-lovedadjective
    Liked more than others of the same kind, or especially well liked.

    The old diner is still one of the senator's favorite places to eat.

    My favorite part of the trip was the night train through the mountains.

    UsageUsually after a possessive: my favorite song (not incorrect: my most favorite song). The opposite is least favorite.

    Note

    Graded uses such as more favorite go back to an older, plainer sense of "cherished" and are rare today; most favorite survives mainly as casual emphasis.

  2. 2
    nouncountable
    A person or thing that someone likes more than others, or that is especially popular, such as a song, a dish or a performer.

    The song became an instant favorite with audiences across the country.

    As the only grandchild, she was everyone's favorite at family gatherings.

    UsageOften a favorite with (or among) a group, or a favorite of someone: a favorite of mine.

    Similardarling, pet, hit

  3. 3
    likely winnernouncountable
    A competitor or contestant considered the most likely to win.

    The home side entered the tournament as one of the favorites but went out in the first round.

    Bookmakers have made the three-year-old colt the clear favorite for Saturday's race.

    UsageUsually the favorite to win or the favorite for a race: the clear favorite for Saturday's race.

    Similarfront-runner

    Oppositeunderdog, outsider

  4. 4
    trusted personnouncountable
    A person who is preferred or trusted above everyone else.

    The king's favorite was given land, titles, and a seat on the council.

    Within the company she was the founder's favorite, the first person he called with any problem.

  5. 5
    bookmarknouncountable
    A bookmark saved in a web browser or on a website.

    He saved the train timetable as a favorite so he could check it each morning.

    Her browser's favorites bar is crowded with links to recipe blogs.

    UsageUsually plural for the whole list: add a page to your favorites, the favorites bar.

    Similarbookmark

    Note

    Browsers split over the name: some call a saved link a favorite, others a bookmark, and the two words mean the same thing here.

Less common meanings

  1. 6
    bookmarkverbtransitive
    To mark something, such as a post, a product or a web page, as a favorite so that it is saved to a list on a website, app or browser.

    Shoppers can favorite a product to get an alert when its price drops.

    He favorited the airline's check-in page in his browser so he could find it on the morning of the flight.

    UsageThe opposite is unfavorite: unfavorite a post to take it off your list.

    Similarsave, like

    Note

    The list can belong to a website, an app or a browser: shoppers favorite a product, readers favorite a post, and people favorite a page in a browser whose menu says favorites rather than bookmarks.

  2. 7
    nounhistorical
    One of the short curls worn hanging at the temples, a style in fashion during Charles II's reign.
    the Favourites hang loose upon the Temples with a languishing Lock in the middle
    1701, George Farquhar, Sir Harry Wildair

Practice

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Origin

First recorded in the 1580s. English borrowed Middle French favorit, which came from Old French favorit or from Italian favorito (“favored, favorite”), the past participle of the Italian verb favorire (“to favor”). Behind that stand favore and Latin favor (“good will, favor”), from the verb faveō (“I favor”), whose deeper origin is uncertain. Favori is a doublet.