bestseller

noun

best·​sell·​er ˈbes(t)-ˈse-lər 

variants or best seller

plural bestsellers or best sellers

: a popular product and especially a book whose sales are among the highest of its class

[Isabel] Allende's new book is spun from the stuff of epic romances: eternal love, lost innocence, distant locales, revolution. In short, all the elements of a sure bestseller.

—Julie K. L. Dam

The Harvard Book Store Café … is not only the obvious choice for the latest best seller but the intelligent break for a shopper's graze.

—Alice Rubenstein Gochman

Two million copies have been sold, and it has been on the New York Times bestseller list for four years.

—Judith Daniels

… the two Fisher-Price bestsellers are the company's Fun with Food [toy] series and the Fisher-Price Fun with Food Kitchen.

—The New Yorker

She knows what the mass market wants—Vanderbilt and Chaps [fragrances] are best sellers—and she has a flair for what appeals to a more specialized market …

—Amy Singer

best-sellerdom

ˈbes(t)-ˈse-lər-dəm 

noun

best-selling

ˈbes(t)-ˈse-liŋ 

adjective

Examples of bestseller in a Sentence

She has written several best sellers.

Recent Examples on the Web

Color Wow's Dream Coat Supernatural Spray is a bestseller for its frizz-taming abilities, even in the most dire straits. —Amanda Mitchell, Allure, 16 May 2025

The online exclusive Alvarez rug is a Crate & Barrel bestseller going back 10 years. —Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 15 May 2025

Ultraviolence Sneaks Back onto the Albums List The follow-up to Born to Die, Ultraviolence, is also a bestseller once more in the U.K. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025

Get our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more We talked to Barry recently about his book and his future. —Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 13 May 2025

Ryan, a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, releases the third installment of her Skyland series, Can’t Get Enough, on May 13. —Monique Wilson, Glamour, 11 May 2025

One of its bestsellers is an eight-day journey through Portugal, where guests get to paint alongside a Lisbon street artist. —Lori Rackl, Travel + Leisure, 8 May 2025

This led me to release three number one Amazon bestsellers of my own and then use these methodologies to teach other writers how to succeed. —Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 7 May 2025

The heartwarming moment ended in a surprise appearance from the family Matriarch, as Queen Bey celebrated her mother’s memoir reaching No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. —Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 2 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1864, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bestseller

• bookseller
• flagellar
• impeller
• lamellar
• micellar
• modeller
• ocellar
• patellar
• propeller
• reseller
• scutellar
• beller

Kids Definition

best-seller

noun

best-sell·​er

ˈbes(t)-ˈsel-ər

: an article (as a book) whose sales are among the highest of its kind

best-selling

-ˈsel-iŋ

adjective