Favorite has 9 different meanings across 3 categories:
Noun · Adjective · Proper Noun
a competitor thought likely to win
"The sportsbook listed the underdog as an upset, but most fans still consider Team A their favorite for the championship."
Alternative form of favourite
"In British spelling, everyone agrees that the favorite color is blue."
In plain English: A favorite is something you like better than anything else.
"My favorite is ice cream with chocolate chips."
Usage: Use "favorite" as a noun to refer to a person or thing that is loved or admired more than others, such as calling your best friend your favorite. This spelling is standard in American English, while British English typically uses the variant "favourite."
Alternative form of favourite
"In British English, people often spell their favorite movie as favourite."
In plain English: To favorite something means to mark it as your top choice so you can find it easily later.
"She always chooses her favorite restaurant when she wants to celebrate."
Usage: Do not use "favorite" as a verb; instead, use the phrasal verbs "favor" or "prefer" to express liking something more than others. Reserve the noun form "favorite" for describing your preferred choice, and remember that American English spelling uses "z" while British English uses "v" for both the adjective and noun.
Alternative form of favourite
"In British English, many people spell their favorite dish as "favourite," but I've always used the variant "favorite" in my writing."
In plain English: Something you like better than anything else is your favorite.
"She wore her favorite blue dress to the party."
Usage: Use "favorite" as an adjective to describe something you like best among all others, such as a favorite song or favorite color. This spelling is standard in American English and preferred over the variant "favourite" for adjectives in that region.
A surname.
"Her favorite, a legendary chef named Favorite, opened his new restaurant downtown last week."
Derived from Old French favoriz, this term originally meant "one who is favored" or "a person showing favor." It entered English in the mid-16th century to describe someone preferred by another due to special affection.