Which to use
“best” is an adjective and “bested” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #145
- “best” frequency rank
- #40,581
- “bested” frequency rank
- 40726
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | best | bested |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | superlative form of good: most good. | simple past and past participle of best |
Where the eye mixes best and bested
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: best vs bested
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: best is /ˈbɛst/ while bested is /ˈbɛstɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “best” sits inside “bested”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
best is recorded at frequency rank #145, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈbɛst/. bested is at rank #40,581, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈbɛstɪd/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 40726, this pair ranks #264,935 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of best vs bested
Shared letters: best. Private to "best": -. Private to "bested": d.
"best" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "bested" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "best" for "bested" ever safe?
Frequency check: "best" vs "bested" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "best" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bested" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #264,935 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "best" and "bested" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bested vs bestie". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #264,935 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.