Meaning of favourite in English:

favourite

Pronunciation /ˈfeɪv(ə)rɪt/

See synonyms for favourite

adjective

(US favorite)

attributive

Preferred to all others of the same kind.
‘their favourite Italian restaurant’
- ‘Do you play many games, and if so, do you have any favorite titles or preferred genres?’
- ‘The same is true of my favourite pubs and restaurants: they tend to be places known only to locals.’
- ‘It's one of my favourite restaurants, partly for the food but mainly for the atmosphere.’
- ‘His favourite restaurant is minutes away, as is the park where he walks most days.’
- ‘There are favourite haunts where the exercise enthusiasts gather to have a sip of hot tea.’
- ‘Mourners are asked to wear something pink or a pink flower, as pink was Amanda's favourite colour.’
- ‘On the scale of favourite things to do as a means of wasting time, online personality tests come out very near the top.’
- ‘We'd already compiled our top five favourite things about Britain, and now we were on to New York.’
- ‘But for me a lot of the fun of London is less about favourite places and more about favourite walks.’
- ‘He had one favourite movie and he watched it more than a dozen times, sometimes on consecutive nights.’
- ‘Like it or not, poker is America's new favorite pastime.’
- ‘Take a wild guess as to what my least favorite movie of the 90's is.’
- ‘I played dumb, as if it wasn't my most favorite song in the entire world.’
- ‘When I think of my life, art stands out as one of my most favorite hobbies.’
- ‘Have a least one favorite restaurant/bar/cafe where everybody knows your name.’
- ‘I mean - our names are the title characters of one of my very favorite shows.’
- ‘He was not about to forgo his search for knowledge or his favorite haunts.’
- ‘I knew when I rented this place, this would be my favorite haunt.’
- ‘Dinner will be guacamole and chips, also one of my very favorite things.’
- ‘He did not ask for much this year, save for one favorite thing.’
best-loved, most-liked, favoured, dearest, treasured, pet, special, closest to one's heart
View synonyms

noun

(US favorite)

1A person or thing that is preferred to all others of the same kind or is especially well liked.
‘my favourite is tandoori chicken’
- ‘the song is still a favourite after 20 years’
- ‘you could always fall back on that old favourite, the omelette’
- ‘Food vendors sell local favorites such as teriyaki chicken or beef stew with rice and macaroni salad.’
- ‘When you have mulled over these questions and picked your favourites, you give money when and how you see fit.’
- ‘I'll try to pick my three absolute favorites tomorrow and link to all the other ones that were good.’
- ‘Pick your favorites and leave a comment directing us there, or link via trackback to your own post.’
- ‘Pick your favorite out of the two, then ask for a sample to take home and try out.’
- ‘He had asked them to sing their favourite songs, and the students would pick their favourites.’
- ‘He was very well-liked by all his colleagues and was a favourite with visitors.’
- ‘Although still a great hero and a favourite of the people, he acquires human faults and failings.’
- ‘It's hard to pick a favourite but here are two that had me laughing out loud.’
- ‘Participants were asked to rate each scenario on its merits, not to pick their favourite.’
- ‘They did have chicken nuggets, served with those old favourites, chips and beans.’
- ‘I'll use a phrase that has become a personal favorite: pushed beyond reason.’
- ‘The page since became an all-time favorite with visitors to my site.’
- ‘Perennial favorites include losing weight, exercising, quitting smoking and even cutting back on guilty pleasures like chocolate.’
- ‘What types of games do you prefer, and are there any you consider your all-time favorites?’
- ‘The enduring rose will always be with us and will continue to be the perennial favorite.’
- ‘With a sizable stable of family and fans in the audience, she had to be considered the hometown favorite.’
- ‘Fans of this closet cult favorite will of course want to buy the disc.’
- ‘After all, it's a catalog title, and a cult favorite at best.’
- ‘Other favorites include cracked corn, nuts (unsalted, please) and suet.’
first choice, choice, pick, preference, pet, beloved, darling
View synonyms
1. 1.1The competitor thought most likely to win a game or contest, especially by people betting on the outcome.
  ‘the team are strong favourites’
  ‘They will be strong favourites having won the last four meetings between the sides.’
  ‘Britain's three-day eventers are strong favourites for Olympic gold this summer.’
  ‘We have been used to Britain crews going to the Olympic Games as favourites.’
  ‘Argentina are heavy favourites, having won all five of their games so far without conceding a goal.’
  ‘Scotland, Japan and the US are the other teams in Group B which the French are strong favorites to win.’
  ‘Both are favorites in their leagues, which could lead to a rematch in the Rose Bowl.’
  ‘The trade did not make Dallas absolute favorites to win it all, but it made them better contenders.’
  ‘That is not a criticism, because they obviously are the heavy favorites to win the Super Bowl.’
  ‘The Broncos came in as slight favorites over a team with question marks at quarterback.’
  ‘Indiana are the clear favorites to bring a championship back to the Eastern conference.’
  ‘France, the United States and Germany are considered favourites for team medals.’
  ‘They're on the road as a heavy favorite against a team that matches up well with them.’
  ‘But watching that game it was hard to work out who were the favourites to go up at the end of the season.’
  ‘Then he said England were favourites to win the competition because we had a world class team.’
  ‘Raul, as much as anyone, will be devastated if the pre-match favourites do not win through.’
  ‘No longer will I worry about favorites wrecking their seasons with three bad games.’
  ‘They will start the game as favourites, but they won't want a repeat of what happened five years ago.’
  ‘They have to be the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl now.’
  ‘He was sent off as the favorite at odds of 2.45-to - 1.’
  ‘They picked up four points to make them favourites to reach the semi-final along with York next month.’
  expected winner, probable winner, front runner
  View synonyms
2. 1.2A record of the address of a website or other data made to enable quick access; a bookmark.
  ‘In terms of managing the list, keeping the list in any sort of order involves considerable effort in moving favourites into individual folders.’
  ‘There are only a few { Web sites } I put in my favourites.’
  ‘The Web Wheel gives you access to your browser, favorites or different Google search features.’
  ‘Firstly, there is more space taken up by the favourites on screen, enabling a longer list of favourites without scrolling.’
  ‘Instead of entering the search engine's URL or clicking on a favorite or bookmark, you just enter the query in the search box.’
  ‘Depending on your Windows configuration, you may have more than 1 folder that contains favorites.’
  ‘Also, frustratingly for those who use multiple machines, the list of favourites is tied to a particular machine.’
  ‘It is also easy to forget to put something into the favourites.’
  ‘For each item in the favourites list, a thumbnail of that Web page is inserted, along with the Web page name.’
  ‘The favourites list also only keeps the name of the site in the list, making it difficult to differentiate between different sites quickly.’
  ‘Both products save recently selected destinations and allow you to select destinations as favorites.’
  ‘Repeat as necessary to add all the symbols you wish to your favorites list.’
  ‘Frequently used items can be nicknamed and grouped, and marked as favorites.’
  ‘The update for the media browser add-on for Web browsers added the ability to tag Web-based content as favorites.’
  ‘The search function allows all the things you'd usually experience from heading over to Google without having to type in the address or click on a favourite.’
  ‘Firstly, users have problems managing their favourites, and in particular accessing their favourites through a hierarchical menu.’
  ‘The standard desktop options like favorites, commenting, playlists, related videos, rating and searching are also there.’
  ‘Some users abandoned using favourites altogether and instead resorted to using the history mechanism of their browser.’

verb

(US favorite)

[with object]

Record the address of (a website or other data) to enable quick access in future.
‘you can see who else favourited the same pictures’
- ‘However, in terms of publicity, the video has already been viewed 673,641 times and been "favourited" by viewers 368 times.’
- ‘YouTube, members decide which photographs and videos should rise to prominence by " favouriting ", linking and commenting.’
- ‘Even better, you can see who else favourited the same pictures, and then look at thumbnails of all their favourites.’
- ‘Adding a custom station for the first time took forever, and so did refreshing stations that I listened to often, favoriting and banning many songs.’

Phrases

favourite son

1A famous man who is particularly popular in his native area.
‘Essex's favourite son will open at Lord's to launch the cricket season’
- ‘It was the work of a schoolgirl, then 13, who was so moved by the impending departure of the town's favourite son that she committed her thoughts to verse.’
- ‘Yes, the favourite son of American liberalism is back in the news.’
- ‘It is not meant to be disparaging of Oxford's favourite son.’
- ‘The shadow thrown by Chicago's favourite son looms large, though.’
- ‘I still get confused: was he Donegal's favourite son or was he from Cork?’
- ‘What began as an advertisement for a kit manufacturer has subsequently become a monument to the city's favourite son.’
- ‘He's the favorite son of the day, but he's not very exciting, is he?’
- ‘I mean, he's still the favorite son here in Texas.’
- ‘His adopted hometown of Santa Barbara actually welcomed back its favorite son with a parade this afternoon.’
- ‘In the case of both, they are going to have to make the case that they are more than just the favorite son of their establishments.’
1. 1.1US A person supported as a presidential candidate by delegates from the candidate's home state.
  ‘he hoped to strengthen his position as Maryland's favourite son’
  ‘Upon the death of the Justice in 1851, he became New Hampshire's favorite son presidential candidate.’
  ‘In 1880, he supported Ohio's favorite son, John Sherman, for the Republican presidential nomination, opposing a third term for Ulysses S. Grant.’
  ‘In fact, the predecessor often chooses, endorses, or otherwise supports the favorite son as the most appropriate successor to pursue the course that he has established.’
  ‘For that reason, the state's favorite son and unofficial leading candidate would take a pass.’
  ‘And only one time since 1964 have they carried the South, and that, of course, was in '76 when Jimmy Carter was a favorite son.’
  ‘Here in South Carolina, he's not in the lead, but he's breathing down the neck of the man who is, in effect, the favorite son.’
  ‘He was first elected to the House from neighboring Missouri in 1976 and is considered a favorite son among many Iowa Democrats.’
  ‘Texas casts all its votes for her favorite son and the best father in America.’

Origin

Late 16th century (as a noun): from obsolete French favorit, from Italian favorito, past participle of favorire ‘to favour’, from Latin favor (see favour).