favourite
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- preferred, best-loved, choice, dearest, esteemed, favoured
[noun]
Synonyms:
- darling, beloved, blue-eyed boy (informal), idol, pet, teacher's pet, the apple of one's eye

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. fa‧vou‧rite¹ S3 W3 British English, favorite American English /ˈfeɪvərət, ˈfeɪvərɪt/ adjective [only before noun]

1. your favourite person or thing is the one that you like the most:
a child’s favourite toy
What’s your favourite colour?
a favorite spot for picnickers

2. favourite son a politician, sports player etc who is popular with people in the place that they come from

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. favourite² British English, favorite American English noun [countable]

1. something that you like more than other things of the same kind:
Can we have strawberries? They’re my favourite.
an old/firm/particular favourite
a sweater that’s an old favorite
favourite with
Dahl’s books are firm favourites with children.

2. someone who is liked and treated better than others by a teacher or parent:
You always were Dad’s favourite.
play favorites American English (=treat one person better than others)
The manager insisted he doesn’t play favorites. ⇒ favouritism

3. the team, player etc that is expected to win a race or competition
favourite to do something
Italy were the favourites to win the World Cup.
He was the hot favourite for the Booker Prize.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

favourite
noun
I. sb/sth that you like more than others
ADJ. firm, great, huge, particular, special, very This painting is a particular favourite of mine. My very favourite film is ‘The Wizard of Oz’.
all-time, established, old, perennial, traditional This movie is my all-time favourite. You will find all your old favourites in this book of poems.
family, personal, popular
VERB + FAVOURITE choose If I had to choose a favourite, it would be Monet's ‘Water Lilies’.
PREP. ~ for The woods surrounding the estate were a favourite for family walks.
~ among He is a favourite among his teammates.
~ with The song is a firm favourite with their fans.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

favourite
II. competitor expected to win
ADJ. clear, firm, hot, odds-on, overwhelming, red-hot She is odds-on favourite to win a coveted Academy Award.
second | joint | even money The horse is an even money favourite.
2?1, etc. Tiger Woods is 3?2 favourite to win the Million Dollar Challenge.
home, local | cup, race, title
VERB + FAVOURITE look, start (as) The Brazilians still look firm favourites to take the title.
emerge as
PREP. ~ for Jopanini is second favourite for Saturday's race, behind Bright Spark.
PHRASES favourite to win The Spanish are the favourites to win.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

favourite
adjective
BAD: My most favourite drink is lemonade.
GOOD: My favourite drink is lemonade.

Usage Note:
An adjective which contains the sense 'most' as part of its meaning cannot be used with most . Favourite means 'most preferred'.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲