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The Collaborative International Dictionary
To make the best of

Best \Best\, n. Utmost; highest endeavor or state; most nearly perfect thing, or being, or action; as, to do one's best; to the best of our ability. At best, in the utmost degree or extent applicable to the case; under the most favorable circumstances; as, life is at best very short. For best, finally. [Obs.] ``Those constitutions . . . are now established for best, and not to be mended.'' --Milton. To get the best of, to gain an advantage over, whether fairly or unfairly. To make the best of.

  1. To improve to the utmost; to use or dispose of to the greatest advantage. ``Let there be freedom to carry their commodities where they can make the best of them.''
    --Bacon.

  2. To reduce to the least possible inconvenience; as, to make the best of ill fortune or a bad bargain.

Usage examples of "to make the best of".

Having once got back in time, we had to make the best of our bargain.

They would accept her only on their terms, and she would have to make the best of it.

Lini tried to make the best of it, but I know he never came to see Gawyn or me in the nursery.

You persuaded me not to and now you're saying I just have to make the best of it?

Then, deciding to make the best of it, he went up to look again at Bob's notes and the magazine articles about Skeleton Island.

Some of the grandees seemed ready to make the best of their unprepossessing quarters, while others grumbled and fussed.

As Godarz's son, he was plenty practical enough to make the best of that.

But I had to make the best of it, so I fixed myself up a little house and lived there for nearly six months, all by myself.

If everybody were shortsighted and obsessed with beliefs as to what was going to be visible, we might have to make the best of such testimony, but we should need to correct its errors by taking care to collect the simultaneous evidence of people with the most divergent expectations.

Afterwards, Barchek slept, leaving her to make the best of her situation.

A nagging voice told her to make the best of it, for it might not last.

They tried to make the best of it and everyone assured everyone else that there were not likely to he more dragons about, and that one which was dead at about three o’.

They tried to make the best of it and everyone assured everyone else that there were not likely to he more dragons about, and that one which was dead at about three o'clock that afternoon (which was when they had seen it) would hardly have been killing people a very few hours before.