as in defeated
to achieve a victory over
at last she's bested her card-playing mother at the game of hearts
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Recent Examples of bested
McBath bested Bourdeaux in the primary and easily won the general election that November.
—
Literary Hub, 9 Feb. 2026
His teammates rallied behind him — including Sakamoto, men’s short program winner Yuma Kagiyama (who bested Malinin with a truly exceptional showing) and pairs favorites Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara — commending the rock solid performance.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 8 Feb. 2026
Grace Leung scored 14 points, while Emma Smith had 12 points as Bishop Feehan bested Cardinal Spellman 46-17 in the Catholic Central League.
—Tyler McManus, Boston Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
The small, spry breed just became eligible for the Westminster show this year, and Millie bested about 10 other farmdogs Tuesday afternoon to get to the evening round.
—CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Penny bested six other finalists at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
—Jennifer Peltz, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026
In hypothetical general election match-ups, McMorrow bested Rogers by 3 points, with 12 percent undecided.
—Julia Mueller, The Hill, 29 Jan. 2026
Marshall scored 18 points with six rebounds, but was bested by Randle’s game-high 31 points with five rebounds and four assists.
—Mike Curtis, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
The Raiders had, in impressive form, bested the Patriots the previous week, but they were still considered to be not very good.
—Jasper Craven, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Literary Hub, 9 Feb. 2026
His teammates rallied behind him — including Sakamoto, men’s short program winner Yuma Kagiyama (who bested Malinin with a truly exceptional showing) and pairs favorites Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara — commending the rock solid performance.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 8 Feb. 2026
Grace Leung scored 14 points, while Emma Smith had 12 points as Bishop Feehan bested Cardinal Spellman 46-17 in the Catholic Central League.
—Tyler McManus, Boston Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
The small, spry breed just became eligible for the Westminster show this year, and Millie bested about 10 other farmdogs Tuesday afternoon to get to the evening round.
—CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Penny bested six other finalists at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
—Jennifer Peltz, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026
In hypothetical general election match-ups, McMorrow bested Rogers by 3 points, with 12 percent undecided.
—Julia Mueller, The Hill, 29 Jan. 2026
Marshall scored 18 points with six rebounds, but was bested by Randle’s game-high 31 points with five rebounds and four assists.
—Mike Curtis, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
The Raiders had, in impressive form, bested the Patriots the previous week, but they were still considered to be not very good.
—Jasper Craven, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bested
Verb
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Coached by Mike Holmgren and led by quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle went 13-3 during the regular season and defeated Washington and Carolina in the playoffs.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Celta defeated Rayo 3-0, but this was a match that is likely to be remembered for what happened off the pitch.—
Colin Millar,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Each of them had mastered the master-class circuit; none had needed help with where to sleep.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
-
For this Welsh immigrant family rose from nothing to produce an American icon who mastered a distinctly American art form — the ultimate apotheosis of the American Dream — and who is, ironically, the most miserable of them all.—
Ben Croll,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Bradshaw — who passed for 309 yards and overcame three interceptions with touchdown passes of 47 yards to Swann and 73 yards to Stallworth — was named MVP for the second straight year.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Malinin opened with a big quad flip, opted for a safer triple axel over his quad, and overcame a couple of mistakes along the way to finish with aplomb.—
Dave Skretta,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Behind forceful nights from Nic Claxton, who scored a career-high 28 points, and Noah Clowney, who added 22, and with three rookies taking full advantage of their minutes, the Nets found just enough offense to beat the Chicago Bulls 123-115 at Barclays Center.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The beating heart of space is the custom charcoal grille, which took six months to build just for the new locale.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The protesters took a violent turn at several points during that week.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
In total, the design process took three years to complete with collaboration from several researchers and engineers.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Volcker went down in history as the man who conquered inflation, laying the foundation for decades of American prosperity.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
-
His small band of Spaniards pulled off the impossible, and conquered the Mexica empire with alliances, superior technology and diseases.—
Brad Templeton,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Clegg said judges got creative to attract attorneys.—
Raynee Howell,
Oklahoma Watch,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The United States certainly got a favorable group to ease into this tournament.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In a news release, deputies said that they were dispatched to the intersection of Esplanade Avenue and San Jacinto Avenue after learning of the hit-and-run crash.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Police were dispatched to the White House official’s address that afternoon after a witness reported a suspicious person.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bested.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bested. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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