Word.ws English Dictionary

as best one can

as best one can adverb: in the best possible way, given one's circumstances and abilities.

Adverb

as best one can (not comparable)

  1. (idiomatic) In the best possible way, given one's circumstances and abilities.
    • We tried to make our lives comfortable as best we could.
    • As best I can tell, this wound does not seem grievous.

Forms of as best one can

alternative formas best as one can
alternative formbest as one can
alternative formbest one can

Questions about as best one can

What does as best one can mean?
As best one can means in the best possible way, given one's circumstances and abilities.
What part of speech is as best one can?
As best one can is an adverb.

Words near as best one can in the dictionary

  1. as anything
  2. as Australian as Vegemite
  3. as balls
  4. as be damned
  5. as best as one can
  6. as best one can
  7. as big as life
  8. as broad as long
  9. as built
  10. as builts
  11. as clever as a cartload of monkeys

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: as best one can (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-as best one can.ogg.

Cite this entry: “as best one can.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/as_best_one_can. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.