: in the most comfortable or favorable economic circumstances
It's more than embarrassing for the senior U.S. senator from one of the poorest states to sponsor legislation that will assist a handful of the best-off families on earth.Pat Lynch, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 8 June 2009
The best-off people take the voluntary accounts, and the low-income people don't.Tom Blackburn, The Palm Beach Post (Florida), 31 Jan. 2005
The next best-off group … averaged 2 cents more income in 2004 for each dollar they earned in 1979.David Cay Johnston, The New York Times, 28 Nov. 2006

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of best-off was in 1865

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Cite this Entry

“Best-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/best-off. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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