(before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est / (after 之) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最 "the greatest in the world")

best / had better ...; it would be best to ...

strong / powerful / better / slightly more than / vigorous / violent / best in their category, e.g. see 百強｜百强

king or monarch / best or strongest of its type / grand / great

to select the best

optimum / optimal / peak / best (athlete, movie etc)

pointed; tapering; sharp / (of a sound) shrill; piercing / (of one's hearing, sight etc) sharp; acute; keen / to make (one's voice) shrill / sharp point; tip / the best of sth; the cream of the crop

the charts (of best-sellers) / table of ranking

best feature / most important part of an object / quintessence / essence / soul

peak / apex / world best / number one / finest (competitors) / top (figures in a certain field)

to make every effort to / striving to do one's best

(card games) trump card / (fig.) ace; star player; top performer; best asset; secret weapon

as far as one's capabilities extend (idiom); to the best of one's ability / within one's powers

sharp pointed end / the tip / the cusp / tip-top / most advanced and sophisticated / highest peak / the best

sth one wishes to keep secret / ulterior motive / a subject best avoided

at most / at best

(idiom) to have one's wishes come true; wish you the best!

lit. for a nobleman to take revenge, ten years is not too long (idiom) / fig. revenge is a dish best served cold

(idiom) to cherry-pick; to pick the best parts for oneself; to be choosy

to rank among the best

to bring out the best in each other (idiom) / to complement one another well

(male) superstar of the silver screen; best actor award winner

the palest ink is better than the best memory (idiom)

carefully chosen / handpicked / best of the bunch / choice (product) / concentration (mining) / to concentrate / to winnow

movie queen; best actress award winner

(in elections for village committees in the PRC since the 1990s) unrestricted nomination, a type of election where 1. everyone in the community is eligible to nominate somebody 2. voting is done by writing the name of one's nominee on the ballot, and 3. one's nominee can be anyone in the community (Nominees who receive the highest number of votes may be thereby elected or, more often, presented as the candidates in a further round of voting.) / (in other contexts) selection of the best contender in a process open to all comers / (in the entertainment industry) open audition

splendid clothes / rich attire / one's Sunday best

brightest and best / chief / first among peers

to send one's greetings; to send one's best regards / to devote attention to

lit. if it's wrong, it's wrong (idiom); to make the best after a mistake / to accept an error and adapt to it / to muddle through

to rise into the ranks of; to be among (the best) / to get into (an industry, trade etc)

first-class / best quality / also pr. [shang4 sheng4]

at most; at best

chief / first / brightest and best

perfect (idiom); perfection / the best of all possible worlds / as good as it gets

best friends / inseparable sidekick / diehard followers

to do one's best; to shape up; to fend for oneself / you're on your own

to settle for second best / the next best thing

(idiom) to seize every minute; to make the best use of one's time

best man; groomsman

to have all one's wishes (idiom) / best wishes / all the best / may all your hopes be fulfilled

to declare oneself emperor / to win the best actor award

the role an actor plays best (idiom) / (fig.) one's specialty / one's forte

with swagger / ostentatiously / to make the best use of one's strengths

to use sth to the full / to make the best use of everything

to work hard / to do one's very best / to throw oneself into the task at hand

lit. to hope one's son becomes a dragon (idiom); fig. to long for one' s child to succeed in life / to have great hopes for one's offspring / to give one's child the best education as a career investment

best of its kind / cream of the crop

best friend

best man / to entertain

to plan and consider / to reflect on one's best strategy

neither the best nor the worst; not too bad; better than some

lit. the old man lost his horse, but it all turned out for the best (idiom) / fig. a blessing in disguise / it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good

congratulations on house-moving or promotion (idiom); Best wishes for your new home!

elite (e.g. troops) / crack / best quality personnel

to take advantage of the new situation (idiom) / to make the best of new opportunities

lit. the mountain dweller lives off the mountain, the shore dweller lives off the sea (idiom) / fig. to make the best use of local resources / to exploit one's position to advance oneself / to find one's niche / to live off the land

(idiom) to try one's very best to persuade sb; to reason with sb in every way possible

employ one's talent to the fullest / everyone gives of their best

to close down a business for good and put the best face on it (idiom)

to act cleverly to get what one desires / to get the best at least expense

to congratulate respectfully / to wish good luck and success (esp. to a superior) / with best wishes (in writing)

sage Emperors Shun and Yao rule every day (idiom); all for the best in the best of all possible worlds

best quality / item of the highest quality / (slang) outrageous / annoying in the extreme / gross / person with these qualities

best friend

a secret / sth best not told to anyone / confidential information

employ one's talent to the fullest / everyone gives of their best / also written 人盡其才｜人尽其才

(idiom) to exhaust all one has / to leave no stone unturned / to try one's best

select the best people for promotion

wise policy / best policy

optimal / the best

not to do one's best / not to exert oneself

best-seller / best-selling book / blockbuster

to select the best (for a job)

as far as I know / to the best of my knowledge

lit. one object bests another object / every item has a weakness (idiom) / there is a rock to every scissor, a scissor to every paper, and a paper to every rock

the best part (of a play etc)

the old man lost his mare, but it all turned out for the best (idiom); fig. a blessing in disguise / it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good

give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime / knowledge is the best charity

wish you all the best! (when signing off on a correspondence)

lit. when we get to the mountain, there'll be a way through (idiom) / fig. everything will turn out for the best; let's worry about it when it happens; it will be all right on the night

to call for entries and select the best / to solicit (entries, submissions, applications etc) / to select (the best candidate) / contest / competition

to ponder a solution; to consider (the best move, how to find a way etc)

as far as possible; to the best of one's ability

to compete against / to measure oneself against / to go head to head (see who is best)

to take the best / to absorb the essence

second best person / second-rate person

best not to mention it / drop it / never mind / let's not talk about it

the person who drinks it knows best whether the water is hot or cold (Zen proverb); self-awareness comes from within / to know best by personal experience

Best Buy (retailer)

the best part of the show is yet to come / (with ironic tone) the worst is yet to come / you ain't seen nothin' yet

(slang) (Tw) close friend / best pal / to get along well / to be tight / congenial

He laughs best who laughs last.

He laughs best who laughs last.

family heirloom / most precious family possession / person's secrets / one's best performance

the unvarnished truth is better than a cunning ruse (idiom) / honesty is the best policy

a best-seller / a hot property

finalist; qualifier; person or item selected as one of the best

of the thirty-six stratagems, the best option is to flee (idiom) / the best thing to do is leave

the best policy / the best thing one can do in the circumstances