the top three best vs the three best

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'The top three best' is used when emphasizing that the three items are the best among a larger group, while 'the three best' simply refers to the three best items without emphasizing their ranking.

Last updated: March 29, 2024 • 3517 views

This phrase is correct and can be used to emphasize that the three items are the best among a larger group.

"the top three best"

This phrase is used when you want to highlight that the three items being referred to are the best among a larger group of items. It adds emphasis to the ranking of the items.

Examples:

These are the top three best restaurants in the city.
She was ranked as one of the top three best students in the class.
The top three best players will receive a special award.

Show examples from the web [+]

It's, like, top three of the best things you've ever done.
There are small cuts on the top three ribs.
It looks like the top three sheets are missing.
We need to narrow our choices down to the top three.
Without us, you can't compete with the top three.
I need to do something to get into the top three.
We focused on the top three candidates.
Sionis told the top three candidates to fight it out.
Lord Owari is from the top three clans.
Don got us to the top three.
He is one of the top three doctors in the practice.
In order to ensure an adequate level of ambition, a top-runner approach is the obvious choice: in that case, the best company (or, for example, the average of the top three companies) would set the standard for the rest.
They're the top three students in their class, out of 211.
Well, maybe not number one, but it's definitely in the top three.
Look, my fee is $8,000 per number, plus a $10,000 bonus if you place in the top three.
And with Dakota Stanley at the wheel, you will place at the top three.
The top three teams are likely to be Na'Vi, Scythe, and a Chinese team... which I personally hope will be EHOME.
Then assuming ADP stays out... 15 accounts lost, the top three of which represent 68% of our core billing.
And the top three scores join me, the captain, in this year's team.
If you would take polls, the top three answers might be: love, wine and whining.

Alternatives:

the three best
the top three
the best three
the top three choices
the top three options

This phrase is correct and is used to refer to the three best items without emphasizing their ranking.

"the three best"

This phrase is used when you want to refer to the three best items without emphasizing their specific ranking among a larger group. It is a more straightforward way of stating the quality of the items.

Examples:

These are the three best movies of the year.
He chose the three best books for his research.
I need to pick the three best candidates for the job.

Show examples from the web [+]

On 19 November, Mr Franchet, Director of Eurostat, gave the assurance that the formula he uses to calculate inflation is a weighted formula and that if he is asked he will give a weighted mean of the three best countries.
These amounts are established by the Commission by means of an implementing act on the basis of dispatches or export average figures, taking as the point of reference the verified average for the three best years between 1989 and 2010;
And we're the three best friends that anybody could have.
A jury of experts selected the three best proposals based on the criteria specified in the e-Mark U Trust Competition technical and design specifications.
That is always very important, precisely because it is based on the three best performing countries.
Dr Edmund Stoiber (Chair of the High-Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens) has chosen this proposal as one of the three best ideas for red tape reduction.
I called the three best hotels on the Strip, and Austin isn't registered at a single one.
And we're the three best friends That anybody could have
In the area of human resources, the cost of training measures should be based on the average national budget for the three best Member States.
There must be a long-term nominal interest rate which does not exceed by more than two percentage points that of the three best performing Member States in terms of price stability;
The Treaty clearly states that the point of reference should be the average inflation rate of, and I quote: 'the three best performing Member States in terms of price stability'.
Further scrutiny from the point of view of the intellectual property allowed to identify the three best designs from that point of view, which were subsequently submitted to a consultation on the Internet opened from 7 December 2009 to 31 January 2010.
Tell us - and this well help you - which are the three best Member States and which are the three worst.
The Advisory Group was asked, first, to suggest themes that would create a sense of unity or form a «family» of the seven banknote denominations, and second, to select the three best themes and rank them.
Because we're the three best friends, remember?
formulation of Community objectives, guidelines, indicators and benchmarks on the basis of the best practices of the Member States, the aim being to attain the average performance of the three best Member States.
Will the various Member States agree to aim, in terms of training for the unemployed, to reach the level of the three best Member States, that is, 25 %?
Another plus is that their chefis rated one of the three best on the West Coast.
On 10 October 2006 the ECOFIN Council reaffirmed that the reference value for price stability is to be calculated as the average inflation rate of the three best performing EU Member States plus 1.5 percentage points.
It says that the reference value consists of the average inflation of the three best performing Member States in terms of does not say 'members of the eurozone'.

Alternatives:

the top three
the best three
the top three choices
the top three options
the top three picks

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the top three best vs the three best