DictionaryAI

favourite

FAYV-rit/ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/

Noun pluralfavourites

US spellingfavorite

6 meanings of favourite

Practice

  1. 1
    liked bestadjective
    Liked more than all, or most, other things or people of the same kind.

    Blue is my favourite colour.

    Grandad always sits in his favourite chair by the window.

    UsageSay my favourite (not incorrect: most favourite). The opposite is least favourite.

    Similarpreferred, favoured

  2. 2
    best-loved onenouncountable
    A person or thing that someone likes more than others, often treating them better.

    The little dog was clearly Grandma's favourite.

    That song is an old favourite of mine.

    UsageSay something is a favourite with people, as in a favourite with children.

    Similarpet, darling

  3. 3
    likely winnernouncountable
    The one in a race or contest that people think will most likely win.

    Our team is the favourite to win the cup this year.

    The black horse was the favourite, but it only came third.

    UsagePeople say a team is the favourite to win.

    Similarfront-runner

    Oppositeoutsider, underdog

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    bookmarknouncountable
    A link you save in a web browser or on a website so you can find a page again.

    I added the recipe page to my favourites.

    Grandma's tablet has just one favourite in the browser: the weather page.

    Similarbookmark

    Note
  2. 5
    verbtransitive
    To save something on a website or in a browser as one of your favourites.

    Tap the heart to favourite a song.

    She favourited all the photos from her cousin's wedding.

    Similarbookmark, save, like

    Oppositeunfavourite

    Note
  3. 6
    noun
    Little curls of hair worn hanging down at each side of the forehead, in fashion when Charles II was king.
    the Favourites hang loose upon the Temples with a languishing Lock in the middle
    1701, George Farquhar, Sir Harry Wildair

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of favourite apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It came into English in the 1580s from French, which took it from Italian favorito, “favoured”; it goes back to Latin favor, “goodwill”.