finest

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative of fine.

   The gallery displays some of the finest paintings from the Renaissance.

   Only the finest ingredients go into their pastries.

   Note

   Fine reaches its top degree here, with finer as the step between. The form carries whichever meaning of fine is in play: the finest wine is the best, while the finest sandpaper is the least coarse. The ironic fine survives too, so "the finest mess" praises nothing. After the, as in "rank with the finest in Europe," it already stands alone like a noun, much as the police nickname does.

2. 2
   nouncolloquialUSplural

   The police officers of a city or region, referred to collectively and with respect or pride.

   New York's finest responded to the emergency within minutes.

   The mayor praised the city's finest for their work during the storm.

   Similarpolice

   Note

   An American, informal noun that is used only in the plural and almost always follows a possessive place name: New York's finest, the city's finest. It takes a plural verb, as in "fifty of New York's finest were on hand." Informal does not mean slangy here. The tone is civic pride, so the phrase suits praise and would sound mocking in a complaint about the police.

3. 3
   nouncolloquialUSplural

   The members of a country's military, referred to collectively and often with pride.

   The country sent its finest to hold the border.

   Families gathered at the airfield to welcome home the nation's finest after the deployment.

   Similartroops, soldiers, forces

   Note

   The same pattern as the police nickname, scaled up from a city to a country: our country's finest, the nation's finest. Because it sounds like a salute, it invites teasing. In Lou Sullivan's diary (1977–1980), a friend who hears about a fling with a sailor protests, "Are you corrupting our country's finest?" The mock outrage works only because the phrase itself is earnest.

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