BESTED Synonyms: 91 Similar and Opposite Words

bested

verb

past tense of best

as in defeated

to achieve a victory over at last she's bested her card-playing mother at the game of hearts

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of bested Cuellar, meanwhile, bested his opponent by more than 5 percentage points. — Justin Papp, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026 Mansfield Summit beat Cedar Hill 41-19, while Burleson Centennial bested Mansfield Legacy 35-7. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Oct. 2026 They were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays – who also bested them in the division despite a bottom-three payroll compared to New York’s third-highest in baseball – in the American League Division Series. — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026 Oregon coach Dan Lanning has bested Riley in both of their head-to-head meetings, too. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026 Grichuk bested his former team with a three-run homer to effectively put the game away. — Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2026 Its eight legs span some 28 cm (11 inches), a measurement just barely bested by our next spider, the giant huntsman. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Sep. 2026 Democratic Primary Stefany Shaheen bested Maura Sullivan in the crowded Democratic primary, despite trailing Sullivan significantly in fundraising. — Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026 The result—just the latest in a recent flurry of cases where a major technology company has bested American antitrust efforts—raises fresh questions about what will actually succeed in halting Big Tech’s outsized power and influence. — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bested

Verb

French defeated Republican incumbent Jim Wright in a May Republican primary runoff.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Oct. 2026
That’ll be particularly important after Paxton defeated Cornyn in a brutal primary where Senate Republicans and other Cornyn allies spent more than $90 million in his defense and attacked Paxton as unfit for office.

— Matthew Choi, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of defeated

Verb

Complicating things is the current Administration, which has mastered the art of using those message-delivery systems to spread doubt and discontent and suspicion.

— Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
For a blueprint, Johnson points to a handful of NBA stars who have mastered the art of seeing the game unfold a step or two ahead of everyone else — Draymond Green, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and, yes, former Spurs great Tim Duncan.

— Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of mastered

Verb

The move comes after the Astros overcame a plethora of injuries to win the AL West with an 81-81 record and become the first team in Major League Baseball history to reach the postseason without a winning record.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
The Cardinals overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Dodgers, 4-2, in the NLCS, while the Royals rallied from 2-0 down to defeat the Blue Jays, 4-3, in the ALCS.

— OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of overcame

Verb

For founders sitting atop a mountain of stock, that beats selling shares, paying tax, and then giving away the cash.

— Diane Brady, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
The defense has exceeded expectations and continues to cement itself as a top-20, maybe even a top-15 defense, while the offense remains a disappointment, even after beating the Bears (4-2, 2-1).

— Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of beat

Verb

The Brewers took a 5-4 lead on Garrett Mitchell’s solo home run in the sixth inning and added an insurance run in the ninth on Hamilton’s bomb.

— Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026
Perhaps the squad took his ball-respecting mantra to its logical extreme, seemingly reluctant to sully it by smashing it into the net, with Chelsea recording the biggest xG underperformance in the Premier League during his brief tenure.

— Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of took

Verb

The announcement comes after a summer in which AI models have repeatedly conquered many of math’s longstanding open challenges, including one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems.

— Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 12 Oct. 2026
Having conquered the world’s top stages as Wagner’s warrior goddess, the American soprano returns to New World Symphony with selections from Götterdämmerung.

— Mike Hamersly, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of conquered

Verb

After an alert went out early on Friday, two coastguard boats and a navy helicopter were dispatched to the area and other nearby ships were rerouted.

— CBS News, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
People in Crystal Lake are constantly being dispatched in ways that offer the most shredded flesh, spurting blood and oozing viscera possible.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026