Meaning of Idiom ‘Do Your (or one’s) Best’
Todo one’s bestmeans to try one’s best to do something; to do as well as one possibly can.
Usage Notes
When say ‘do your best’ we mean to try your hardest to do something as well as you can. Often, this expression is used in response to someone expressing doubt about their ability to get something done.
A variation not heard often today is ‘do one’s level best.’
Examples Of Use
“I don’t know if I can get this done by tomorrow.”“Just do your best.”
“Do your best to finish your assignments before Christmas vacation.”
“If you just do your best, you can stay on the team.”
“I’ll do my best to find out who did this,” said the detective.
“I can’t believe I came in second place!” said Janine. “It’s okay, hon,” said Mom, “you did your best.”
“I did my best but sometimes my best just isn’t good enough, I guess.”
“We all have to do our best to protect our democracy.”
“Playing a real person is difficult,” said the actor. “You do your best to truly inhabit the character.”
“Arnie did his best to get us some reservations to the restaurant but they just didn’t have any tables.”
Origin
Used since at least the mid-1800s.
