Best regards meaning: kind wishes, a notch up

Best regards means "my kindest wishes to you". You can sign off almost any work email with it, because it's polite enough for a stranger and friendly enough for a colleague. Plain regards is a step cooler.

Last updated Oct 12 2026

Please find the signed contract attached. Best regards, Henrik.

What did they mean?

Filed under B jargon.

The default sign-off of working email

Kind wishes for anyone

Best regards is a polite way to end an email, a little warmer than regards on its own. Dictionaries give it no formal or informal label, so it suits almost anyone.

Its near-synonyms are kind regards, kindest regards, best wishes, yours truly, yours sincerely and yours faithfully.

Best regards next to its neighbors

Each sign-off near best regards is a few degrees warmer or cooler. Most of them have their own entry in our corporate jargon dictionary.

Sign-off	Compared with best regards
Regards	Brisk, and chilly in a tense thread
Kind regards	About the same, slightly stiffer
Warm regards	For someone you’ve met, thanked or worked with closely
Best wishes	For someone you already know quite well
All the best	Adds good luck, and often means goodbye for a while
Sincerely	Still outranks all of them on a letter
V/R	The military’s version, for a reader who outranks you

Choosing between best and kind

Kind regards is the more formal of the two. It suits a complaint, or someone senior you’ve never met. Best regards is friendlier and suits a client you talk to every week. Australia’s government style manual lists kind regards for an email opening with Hi as well as one opening with Dear. When in doubt, copy whatever the other person used last.

Where best regards ranks

Ninth on the friendly list

Of the ten ways to end an email that British workers find friendliest, best regards comes ninth. It sits just behind “let’s catch up soon” and just ahead of “see you soon”.

Sign-off	Place in the vote
Wishing the reader a great day	Friendliest, picked by nearly half
Warm regards	Sixth
Kind regards	Not on the list

The one-word version, Best

Many people clip it to Best, which saves eight keystrokes and costs a little goodwill. Cheers is the other short option, used mostly in Commonwealth offices.

21% of American Gen Z workers sign off with Best, against 11% in the UK.

What best regards says between the lines

Signed by the signature block

Best regards is often typed by nobody. It’s saved in the email signature, so it goes out under every message, the thank-you and the complaint alike.

The Friday downgrade

One colleague’s sign-off shrinks as the week goes on. Each version means the same kind goodbye, in fewer letters.

Day	Sign-off
Monday	Best regards
Wednesday	Best
Friday afternoon	The initial J, no punctuation

Best regards on bad news

Best regards gives nothing away, so a rejection signed best regards still reads as a rejection. To soften bad news, put one kind sentence above the sign-off, such as thanking them for their time.

Best regards in a chat window

Leave best regards out of chat, where your name and photo already sit beside every message. Under “ok, will do” it looks like a letterhead on a sticky note.

Tom books the kick-off

Subject: Kick-off meeting, Tuesday 10 am
Hi Priya, thanks for the call this morning. I’ve booked the kick-off for Tuesday at 10 in the small meeting room and attached the agenda. Lunch is on us.
~~Best regards~~ Speak Tuesday, Tom

Best regards in a sentence

Please find the signed contract attached. Best regards, Henrik.
Third time asking for the receipts from the Madrid trip. Best regards.
Give my best regards to your team, Paola, and thanks for hosting us in Milan.
Kasper signs even his two-word chat messages with Best regards, so ok thanks takes up three lines.

Questions about best regards

Is Best regards a good closing?

Yes, it's the safest sign-off for everyday work email. It reads as polite to people you don't know and still friendly to people you do. Keep the warmer closings for people you've met.

What to say instead of best regards?

Kind regards is a touch more formal. Warm regards or all the best suit someone you know, and many thanks fits an email where you've asked for something. Between colleagues, cheers keeps it casual.

What do you say when someone says best regards?

Nothing about the sign-off itself. Answer their email, then close with best regards or something just as polite, since matching the other person's sign-off keeps the tone level.

Is best regards impolite?

No, it's one of the most neutral sign-offs there is. It reads cold only when the email above it is cold, or when it lands in a casual chat where everyone else writes thanks.

Is it correct to say best regards?

Yes, best regards is standard English for a polite close, and dictionaries list it beside kind regards and best wishes. Put a comma after it and your name on the next line.

Is kind regards more formal than best regards?

Slightly, yes. Kind regards is a shade stiffer, so it fits a complaint or a first email to someone senior, and best regards fits the people you already deal with.

Sources

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