Are Best Friend-ships exclusive?

[Kirasabu]

I would have thought they were reciprocal (as in you can't be someone's Best Friend if they're not yours) and exclusive. Am I wrong, can a group of 3 or more all be best friends with each other?

[blue2000]

Best friends just means you like this person the most out of all your friends.

You can like someone a lot without them liking you back. And you can like two or more people equally well. So it doesn't have to be exclusive, IMO.

[Twik]

Why not? While grammatically, I suppose "best friend" implies that one person is better than all others, the phrase "best friends" can cover a group.

I'm not even sure it's a good idea to start ranking friends. If you're very close to several people, more power to you.

[Just Lori]

I don't think I've had a best friend for years.  I have been blessed with a few exceptionally good friends, people I can call at any hour, people who make me laugh to the point where I'm falling off my chair, people who have a place in my home if they ever need it.  But I can't quantify these friendships or describe them as good, better, best.  I have friends, and I consider myself blessed. 

[Emmy]

I agree, I think a group of people can be best friends.  However in my life, I find this rare.  In groups of people there are some people I click with more than others so my friends tend to be from different phases in my life instead of being from one group.  I don't like to rank my friends either, usually I'll just say I'm very close with somebody instead of saying they are my 'best friend'.  (Well my DH is my 'best friend' now).  Sometimes I'll say X was my best friend in HS, Y was my best friend in college, ect., but I feel by 'ranking' somebody as a 'best friend' now would be hurtful to my other friends.

[hollasa]

Well, my three year old daughter is best friends with quite a lot of people - her friend Tynan, Cheyenne, Brandon, Elizabeth, Alex, Olivia, her big sister Katherine, daddy, mommy (occasionally), the sun (my best friend Sunny playing peek-boo with me!), snow (look, there Snowy!), and various other people and objects.

[shadowfox79]

I haven't done the whole "best friend" thing in years. In high school it was generally exclusive - a girl and I would be best friends - but since then if I've ever considered someone my best friend it's usually been because they're my closest friend, not because they necessarily view me in the same way.

I don't think I have a best friend now. Just several good ones.

[DaeOne]

I've two best friends from school. These gals are closer to me than at least two of my sisters, and we share everything! So, they are called just that, my best friends from school. They still live in our hometown.

I've a circle of friends where we live now. One is my best friend at church, as we attend together, and the other is my best friend in town. Weird, but it works.

We all have other friends, and don't worry about mixing them. The one time we did, it went horribly awry.

So, they have their circle of friends, and we have ours. No problem.

[Gwywnnydd]

I don't think that 'Best Friends' is necessarily reciprocal, or exclusive. I have had times in my life where I felt that the best friend I had (the one I turn to when I'm too freaked/mad/ashamed to talk to anyone else) feels that I am a close friend, but not 'the Best Friend'. And that's OK. Just because I felt closest to her, doesn't mean she has to feel closer to me than she does to friends she's known twice as long as she's known me. She *might*, but she doesn't *have* to .

[freakyfemme]

Well, my three year old daughter is best friends with quite a lot of people - her friend Tynan, Cheyenne, Brandon, Elizabeth, Alex, Olivia, her big sister Katherine, daddy, mommy (occasionally), the sun (my best friend Sunny playing peek-boo with me!), snow (look, there Snowy!), and various other people and objects.

That's a very healthy attitude that I think more people should cultivate.

[Cyndi]

I have a best friend, Elizabeth, who I used to hang out with in school. She is the only person from school who I still have contact with. We met when I was in fifth grade and she was in fourth, so she's probably the longest friendship I've had. We don't talk often, but when she's down she calls me because I aaaaaaaaaalways say something really funny that makes her feel better.

[MadMadge43]

Ugh! how do you even start ranking. I used to use the term very specifically, but have had so many in my life that I'm still close too. But friendships change just like life.

Now I usually use the term "one of my best friends".

[Sandi Papaya]

A best friendship isn't exclusive. I'm fortunate enough to have several best friends, not all of whom are mutual friends with each other, but each one of those people is "one of my best friends." They're my best friends because they're always there when I need them. So all of them are indispensable to me.

[Lisbeth]

I think best friends simply are those people whom you care most about and are the first people you want to share happiness with.  They might also be the first people you turn to in not-good times as well.

They don't have to be exclusive.