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'd best. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
'd best, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
'd best in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
'd best you have here. The definition of the word
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'd best, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Shortening of had best.
Verb
'd best
- (modal, auxiliary verb, colloquial) Had best.
It's getting late. You'd best get on home.
1874, “Rattletrap Rhymes, No. 47, The Blighted Clerk and the Cruel Millner”, in Judy, Or the London Serio-comic Journal, volume 15, page 199:“This career you'd best be ending, And your ways you'd best be mending"
2013, Bret Anthony Johnston, “Encounters with Unexpected Animals”, in Elizabeth Strout, Heidi Pitlor, editors, The Best American Short Stories 2013, page 93:She'd come over for supper this evening, and though she volunteered to help Robbie and his mother with the dishes, Lambright had said he'd best deliver her home, it being a school night.
2020, Fergus Hume, The Wooden Hand, page 168:“I guess,” said Horace at this point, “you'd best speak civil of Miss Strode. I'm not taking any insolence this day.”
Usage notes
- 'd best is virtually synonymous with should in “We'd best be going” and ought to in “We'd best go”.
Anagrams