favourite
/ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/
favourite adjective: most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.).
Adjective
favourite (comparative more favourite, superlative most favourite or favouritemost or (nonstandard) favouritest)
- Most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.)
- This is my favourite day!
- I saw a hilariously funny movie with all of my favourite comedians in it.
- Antonyms:
- least favorite, unfavourite, unfavorite
- Liked, cherished.
- What joy has this dog in miſchief!—More than I can have in the completion of my moſt favourite purpoſes!1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter VII. Mr. Lovelace. In Continuation.”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume V, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […]...
Noun
favourite (plural favourites)
- A person or thing who enjoys special regard or favour.
- The teacher's favourite always went first.
- Synonyms:
- first love
- Antonyms:
- unfavourite, unfavorite
- A person who is preferred or trusted above all others.
- A contestant or competitor thought most likely to win.
- You were my favourite to win the spelling competition.
- She's the favourite, she'll probably be elected.
- A bookmark on a web browser or website.
- A short curl dangling over the temples, fashionable in the reign of Charles II.
- the Favourites hang loose upon the Temples with a languishing Lock in the middle1701, George Farquhar, Sir Harry Wildair
Verb
favourite (third-person singular simple present favourites, present participle favouriting, simple past and past participle favourited)
- To favour.
- To bookmark.
- To add to one's list of favourite items on a website that allows users to compile such lists.
- Antonyms:
- unfavourite, unfavorite
favourite meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
favourite in Hindi
- preferred
- पसंदीदा pasandīdā
favourite in Tamil
- விருப்பமான, அபிமான
favourite in Marathi
- आवडती, आवडता, आवडत्या
favourite in Urdu
- preferred
- پسندیدہ pasandīda, دل پسند dil-pasand
More languagesFewer languages
- favourite in Bengali
- প্রি়পাত্র, সমাদৃত বস্তু, সমাদৃত ব্যক্তি, অনুগ্রহপাত্র
- favourite in Telugu
- ఇష్టమైన iṣṭamaina
- favourite in Malayalam
- ഏറ്റവും പ്രിയമായ, അഭീഷ്ടമായ, മനസ്സിന് ഏറ്റവുമിണങ്ങിയ, സ്നേഹഭാജനം
- favourite in Kannada
- ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಪ್ರಿಯ, ಅಚ್ಚುಮೆಚ್ಚಿನವನು, ವಿಶೇಷ ಪ್ರೀತಿಪಾತ್ರ, ಅಚ್ಚುಮೆಚ್ಚಿನ
- favourite in Punjabi
- ਪਸੰਦੀਦਾ, ਮਨਪਸੰਦ
- favourite in Gujarati
- મનપસંદ, ફેવરિટ
- favourite in Sanskrit
- प्रिय priya
- favourite in Assamese
- আটাইতকে ভাল লাগা ataitke bhal laga, আটাইতকৈ ভাল লগা ataitkoi bhal loga
- favourite in Arabic
- مُفَضَّل mufaḍḍal
- favourite in Malay
- kegemaran
- favourite in Indonesian
- kesukaan, favorit
- favourite in Persian
- مورد علاقه mowred-e 'alâqe, محبوب mahbub, سوگلی sowgoli
- favourite in Vietnamese
- được ưa thích
Examples of favourite in a sentence
- The Nanny is one of Pippa's favourite shows, but tonight the pleasure of mindlessly blobbing out in her usual Sunday-laid-back-luxury style...2004, Brigid Lowry, Guitar Highway Rose:
- Netherlands, one of the pre-tournament favourites, combined their undoubted guile, creativity, pace and attacking quality with midfield grit and organisation.2012 June 9, Owen Phillips, “Euro 2012: Netherlands 0 – 1 Denmark”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 04 Nov 2016:
Synonyms of favourite
Antonyms
- least favorite
- unfavourite
- unfavorite
Forms of favourite
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more favourite |
| superlative | most favourite |
| superlative | favouritemost |
| alternative US | favorite |
| superlative (nonstandard) | favouritest |
| Noun | |
| plural | favourites |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | favourites |
| present participle | favouriting |
| past participle | favourited |
| past | favourited |
Origin of favourite
Attested from the 1580s, borrowed from Middle French favorit, from Old French favorit or Italian favorito (“favoured, favourite”), past participle of Italian favorire (“to favor”), from favore, from Latin favor (“good will, favor”), from the verb faveō (“to favour”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂weh₁yeti (“to be favourable to”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine, glow light”). Doublet of favori.
Words formed from favourite
Questions about favourite
- What does favourite mean?
- Favourite means most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.).
- What is favourite in Hindi?
- Favourite in Hindi is पसंदीदा (pasandīdā). See Favourite meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use favourite in a sentence?
- The Nanny is one of Pippa's favourite shows, but tonight the pleasure of mindlessly blobbing out in her usual Sunday-laid-back-luxury style...
- What part of speech is favourite?
- Favourite can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce favourite?
- Favourite is pronounced /ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/.
Words near favourite in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: favourite (page history and authors); favourite (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); favourite (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); favourite (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ఇష్టమైన (Telugu) (page history and authors); favourite (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); favourite (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); favourite (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); favourite (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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-us-favourite.ogg, EN-AU ck1 favourite.ogg.
Cite this entry: “favourite.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/favourite. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.