By far means by a wide margin: the library is by far the quietest place on campus. It goes before a superlative, by far the best, by far the most useful, or after it: the easiest by far. Without by far, the best is just the best; with it, there's no contest.
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by far the + superlative / the + superlative + by far
- The library is by far the quietest place to study on campus.
- Of all the routes we tried, the riverside path was the easiest by far.
- Repairing the roof was by far our biggest expense that year.
What changed
First versionThis is by far the most cheapest option on the list.
RevisionThis is by far the cheapest option on the list.
It's tempting to make most even stronger, and most cheapest appears. But cheap already has its own superlative, cheapest, and most isn't added to it. The extra strength comes from by far: by far the cheapest.
So far means until now: the best result so far, which may still be beaten. By far the best means the best by a huge margin. Far better means much better when comparing two: far better than mine.
Your turn
One room is much bigger than every other room: It is by far the ___ room in the house.
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largest — The room is compared with every room in the house, so you need the superlative largest. Large on its own doesn't mean the biggest.
Name a room, place or thing that is clearly better than the rest in one way. Use by far with a superlative.
The kitchen is by far the brightest room in our flat.
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