the best/better/greater part of

idiom

: more than half of (something) : most of (something)
It took us the better part of a week to finish the job.
We've been waiting for the best part of an hour.
They live here for the greater part of the year.

Examples of the best/better/greater part of in a Sentence

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The last two winters in Southern California were some of the wettest on record, following historically severe drought for the better part of the last decade. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025 Unlike in their meeting in Charlotte five days earlier, the Hornets didn’t make the requisite plays to close it out, unraveling despite hanging with — and leading — the Suns for the better part of night in the desert, allowing Phoenix to rip off a game-ending 19-5 spurt. Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 13 Jan. 2025 The first two months of skirmishing in Pogrebki cost the Russians the better part of two battalions, each nominally with 400 people. David Axe, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025 But not just any brand; Benelli has continued to carry its Euro-centric design approach for the better part of the last two decades, and the new Leoncino Bobber 400 is proof of just that. New Atlas, 11 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for the best/better/greater part of 

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Cite this Entry

“The best/better/greater part of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20best%2Fbetter%2Fgreater%20part%20of. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

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