It’s impossible to fully sum up what your best friends mean to you, but a perfectly worded friendship quote might be as close as you can get in a couple of sentences. Your friends have been there for you through the hard times and the good times, supported you through family drama, and you’ve laughed until you cried together, not to mention all the moments in between. Who else could have coached you through your breakups, told you when that halter top didn’t really work for you (but it was the cut! You’re perfect!), and cried proud tears of joy to rival your mom’s when you reached your life goals? Only your besties!
Friendship can be an unconditional love that lasts a lifetime, and these best friend quotes really sum up all the feelings. For romance, there’s nothing like love quotes to get the butterflies going, and when you’re fielding those questions from extended family around the Thanksgiving table, having a family quote or two tucked in your back pocket can remind you why you love them. But best friends are the people you’re always happy to see. They’ve seen you at your worst and at your best, and they love you anyway. Best friends always know the right best friend tweets to send you to make you laugh. Whether you’re attached at the hip, live on opposite sides of the country, don’t see each other as often as you would like to, or talk every single day, there’s a friendship quote for everyone. After all, true best friends can always just pick up right where they left off.
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On friends and moving
“A good friend will help you move, but a true friend will help you move a body.”—Steven J. Daniels
This friendship quote is for the friends who don’t groan when the “will you help me move?” call comes.
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For your black thumb
“A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence, and admires the flowers in your garden.”—Unknown
True friends know exactly where your strengths are, as this friendship quote proves.
RELATED: Uplifting Quotes That Will Stay with You
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Real stickability
“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.”—Woodrow Wilson.Try out these best friend captions for Instagram the next time you post with your bestie.
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As good as new
“Constant use had not worn ragged the fabric of their friendship.”—Dorothy Parker
Best friends never run out of best friend quotes, love, or laughter.
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On being a good friend
“Never leave a friend behind. Friends are all we have to get us through this life—and they are the only things from this world that we could hope to see in the next.”—Dean Koontz
This friendship quote is perfect for people who are like part of the family.
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On the roots of friendship
“Growing apart doesn’t change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled.”—Ally Condie
Best friend quotes like these encapsulate what “BFF” really means.
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On the art of being a good friend
“I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend whof or me does not consult his calendar.”—Robert Brault
A best friend knows a heart-to-heart talk is more important than any yoga class.
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On friends (and chocolate)
“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.”—Linda Grayson
RELATED: Best Gifts for Every Type of Friend
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On laughter in friendship
“Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.”—Oscar Wilde
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On lifelong friends
“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.”—A.A. Milne
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On friends who really know you
“Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.”—Richard Bach
This friendship quote reminds us of that meaning-laden look your bestie gives you across the table when someone says something wild.
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On friends who help you be stronger
“Good friends help you find important things when you have lost them… your smile, your hope, and your courage.”—Doe Zantamata
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On friends who’ll take the bus with you
“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”—Oprah Winfrey
This is the kind of friendship quote that really says “ride or die.”
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On forging a deep friendship
“How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live ’em. How much love inside a friend Depends how much you give ’em.”—Shel Silverstein
“Friends should be like books: few, but hand-selected.”—C.J. Langenhoven
Personally, I love my books like I love my best quotes.
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On a loyal friend
“A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they’re not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they’re not so bad.”—Arnold H. Glasgow
Friendship quotes are perfect for loyal friends.
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On the strength of friendship
“A friendship that can be ended didn’t ever start.”—Mellin De Saint-Gelais
True friends are few and far between. This best friend quote reminds us that best friends are there through thick and thin.
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On being you
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”—Dr. Seuss
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For commonalities
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another ‘What, you too? I thought I was the only one!”‘—C.S. Lewis
This might be the ultimate best friend quote.
RELATED: Galentine’s Day
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For long-distance pals
“Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.”—Henry David Thoreau
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For the meant to be
“No friendship is an accident.”—O. Henry
That means no friendship quote is, either.
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For the good and the bad
“A good friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.”—Irish proverb
RELATED: St. Patrick’s Day Quotes
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For strength in numbers
“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than alone in the light.”—Helen Keller
That’s what a best friend quote is for.
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For the value of friends
“Friendship makes a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession; friendship is never anything but sharing.”—Elie Wiesel
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For the tough lessons
“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something to you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.”—Muhammad Ali
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For your squad
“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you; spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”—Amy Poehler
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For all the chapters
“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”—William Shakespeare
After reading this friendship quote, there might be something in my eye.
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For your cheerleaders
“The great thing about new friends is that they bring new energy into your soul.”—Shanna Rodriguez
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For your successes
“Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend’s success.”–Oscar Wilde
This is a true best friends quote!
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For being hand-in-hand
“Don’t walk in behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”—Albert Camus
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For the tough talks
“It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.”—J.K. Rowling
This is the kind of thing that makes a great friendship quote.
“Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow-ripening fruit.”—Aristotle
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For the drunk evenings
“There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends.”—Sylvia Plath
From too much Halloween candy to your first week of college, this friendship quote sums up a true test of friendship.
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For feeling fine
“A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.”—Proverbs 27:9
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For friends at first sight
“There’s not a word yet, for old friends who’ve just met.”—Jim Henson
This is the kind of best friend quote we live for.
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For finding your person
“There is nothing I wouldn’t do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature.”—Jane Austen
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For when it matters
“Only a true friend would be that truly honest.”—Shrek
Only a great friend would send a friendship quote this true.
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For picking the right ones
“Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant.”—Socrates
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For the gems
“True friends are like diamonds—bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in style.”–Nicole Richie
RELATED: The Types of Friends Every Adult Woman Should Have
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For when you need to talk
“Some people go to priests. Others go to poetry. I go to my friends.”—Virginia Woolfe
Amen to this friendship quote, Virginia.
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For lifetime friends
“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12.”—Stephen King
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For the thick and thin
“True friendship is never serene.”—Marquise de Sevigne
Send this friendship quote to the group chat the morning after your belly-laugh-inducing wine night.
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For your playlist
“I get by with a little help from my friends.”—The Beatles
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For being free
“A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself—and especially to feel, or not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at any moment is fine with them. That’s what real love amounts to—letting a person be what he really is.”—Jim Morrison
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For the small stuff
“‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.'”—E.B. White
We’re not crying at this friendship quote, you’re crying.
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For growing up
“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.”—Elizabeth Foley
This best friends quote sums up why your childhood bestie is always going to understand you.
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For jam sessions
“Ooh you’re the best friend that I ever had / I’ve been with you such a long time / you’re my sunshine / and I want you to know that my feelings are true / I really love you / Oh you’re my best friend.”—Queen
Friendship quotes are even better when sung.
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For the game changers
“Some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life, you can barely remember what life was like without them.”—Anna Taylor
RELATED: The Ideal Best Friend for Every Zodiac Sign
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For the cloudy skies
“If you wanna find out who’s a true friend, screw up or go through a challenging time… then see who sticks around.”—Karen Salmonsohn
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For the SOS moments
“A true friend is someone who will always love you—the imperfect, the confused, the wrong you—because that is what people are supposed to do.”—R.J.L.
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For your part
“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is the kind of friendship quote you can send to yourself.
Like Woody and Buzz, a true friendship doesn’t mean you’re exactly alike. Send this best friends quote to your bestie opposite.
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For being picky
“A friend to all is a friend to none.”—Aristotle
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For your health
“Friends are medicine for a wounded heart, and vitamins for a hopeful soul.”—Steve Maraboli
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For your other half
“In my friend, I find a second self.”—Isabel Norton
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For getting through everything
“Things are never quite as scary when you have a best friend.”—Bill Watterson
This friendship quote is from the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, and it couldn’t be more true. Especially when your bestie is a tiger.
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For pointing out what matters
“That was what a best friend did: hold up a mirror and show you your heart.”—Kristin Hannah
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For real talk
“Friends make you smile—best friends make you giggle ’til you pee your pants.”—Terri Guillemets
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For your darkest hour
“A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.”—Grace Pulpit
Don’t forget to bookmark these funny friendship quotes for future laughs.
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For who knows you
“What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.”—Aristotle
Send this best friend quote to your most finish-each-others-sentences friend.
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For preserving your friendships
“Hold a true friend with both your hands.”—Nigerian Proverb
RELATED: Little Things You Can Do To Be a True Friend
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For the page-turners
“Are we not like two volumes of one book?”—Marceline Desbordes-Valmore
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For the family you choose
“Friends are relatives you make for yourself.”—Eustache Deschamps
But, just like this friendship quote says, they still might look like you!
RELATED: Why You and Your Friends Look Alike
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For being your voice of reason
“Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.”—Sicilian Proverb
Or when you have food in your teeth! This friendship quote really hits home.
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Originally Published: June 15, 2021
Chloë Nannestad
Chloë writes about quirky facts, trivia and humor for Reader's Digest. She loves to put her research skills to use to discover the meaning behind everyday objects or the right way to interpret a pet’s behavior—and as an enthusiastic pub-quiz team member, her favorite topic to write about is trivia. Chloë has been covering lifestyle topics for Reader's Digest since 2020 and has also had work published in Mashed and Tasting Table. When she's not writing, you can find her knitting, jogging or adding another houseplant to the jungle in her apartment.
Hobby: Web surfing, Rafting, Dowsing, Stand-up comedy, Ghost hunting, Swimming, Amateur radio
Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Lindsay Tigar
Chloë NannestadUpdated: Aug. 30, 2023
