2 VERB If soldiers besiege a place, they surround it and wait for the people in it to stop fighting or resisting. □ [V n] The main part of the army moved to Sevastopol to besiege the town. □ [V -ed] The air force was using helicopters to supply the besieged town.
be|smirch /b I smɜː r tʃ/ (besmirches , besmirching , besmirched ) VERB If you besmirch someone or their reputation, you say that they are a bad person or that they have done something wrong, usually when this is not true. [LITERARY ] □ [V n] People were trying to besmirch his reputation.
be|sot|ted /b I sɒ t I d/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you are besotted with someone or something, you like them so much that you seem foolish or silly. □ [+ with ] He became so besotted with her that even his children were forgotten.
be|speak /b I spiː k/ (bespeaks , bespeaking , bespoke , bespoken ) VERB If someone's action or behaviour bespeaks a particular quality, feeling, or experience, it shows that quality, feeling, or experience. [LITERARY , OLD-FASHIONED ]
be|spec|ta|cled /b I spe ktək ə ld/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Someone who is bespectacled is wearing glasses. [WRITTEN ] □ Mr Merrick was a slim, quiet, bespectacled man.
be|spoke /b I spoʊ k/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] A bespoke craftsman such as a tailor makes and sells things that are specially made for the customer who ordered them. [BRIT , FORMAL ] □ …suits made by a bespoke tailor.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Bespoke things such as clothes have been specially made for the customer who ordered them. [BRIT , FORMAL ] □ …bespoke coats.
best ◆◆◆ /be st/
1 Best is the superlative of well . □ What's the best thing to do when I get a cold sore? □ It's not the best place to live if you wish to develop your knowledge and love of mountains.
2 Best is the superlative of good . □ He was best known as a writer on mystical subjects.
3 N‑SING The best is used to refer to things of the highest quality or standard. □ We offer only the best to our clients. □ He'll have the best of care.
4 N‑SING [oft poss N ] Someone's best is the greatest effort or highest achievement or standard that they are capable of. □ Miss Blockey was at her best when she played the piano. □ One needs to be a first-class driver to get the best out of that sort of machinery.
5 N‑SING If you say that something is the best that can be done or hoped for, you think it is the most pleasant, successful, or useful thing that can be done or hoped for. □ A draw seems the best they can hope for. □ The best we can do is try to stay cool and muddle through.
6 ADV [ADV after v] If you like something best or like it the best , you prefer it. □ The thing I liked best about the show was the music. □ Mother liked it best when Daniel got money. □ What was the role you loved the best?
7 Best is used to form the superlative of compound adjectives beginning with 'good' and 'well'. For example, the superlative of 'well-known' is 'best-known'.
8 → see also second best , Sunday best
9 CONVENTION You can say ' All the best ' when you are saying goodbye to someone, or at the end of a letter. [FORMULAE ] □ Wish him all the best, and tell him we miss him.
10 PHRASE You use best of all to indicate that what you are about to mention is the thing that you prefer or that has most advantages out of all the things you have mentioned. □ It was comfortable and cheap: best of all, most of the rent was being paid by two American friends.
11 PHRASE If someone does something as best they can , they do it as well as they can, although it is very difficult. □ The older people were left to carry on as best they could.
12 PHRASE You use at best to indicate that even if you describe something as favourably as possible or if it performs as well as it possibly can, it is still not very good. □ This policy, they say, is at best confused and at worst non-existent.
13 PHRASE If you do your best or try your best to do something, you try as hard as you can to do it, or do it as well as you can. □ I'll do my best to find out. □ It wasn't her fault, she was trying her best to help.
14 PHRASE If you say that something is for the best , you mean it is the most desirable or helpful thing that could have happened or could be done, considering all the circumstances. □ Whatever the circumstances, parents are supposed to know what to do for the best.
15 PHRASE If two people are the best of friends , they are close friends, especially when they have had a disagreement or fight in the past. □ Still, it isn't long before the two rivals become the best of friends.
16 PHRASE If you say that a particular person knows best , you mean that they have a lot of experience and should therefore be trusted to make decisions for other people. □ He was convinced that doctors and dentists knew best.
17 PHRASE If you make the best of something, you accept an unsatisfactory situation cheerfully and try to manage as well as you can. In British English, you can also say that you make the best of a bad job . □ …the virtues of good hard work, and making the best of what you have.
18 to the best of your ability → see ability
19 to hope for the best → see hope
20 to the best of your knowledge → see knowledge
21 best of luck → see luck