crème de la crème

American  

[krem duh lah krem, krem duh la krem] / ˈkrɛm də lɑ ˈkrɛm, krɛm də la ˈkrɛm /

noun

1. the very best; choicest parts or members.

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crème de la crème British  

/ krɛm də la krɛm /

noun

1. the very best

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crème de la crème Cultural  

1. The best of the best: “Our school's marching band is acknowledged as the crème de la crème.” From French, meaning “cream of the cream.”

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Etymology

Origin of crème de la crème

First recorded in 1840–50; literally, cream of the cream

Example Sentences

The crème de la crème, however, is the pro shop, which is the only place where one can buy an item adorned with the Club’s logo.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

"We will take everyone through town to the Northern Meeting Park where the ceilidh begins with the crème de la crème of Scotland's traditional music scene."

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2023

The top-end S21 Ultra was the crème de la crème, with a slightly bigger 6.8-inch display, a whopping 108MP main rear camera, a 40MP front-facing camera — and an equally whopping starting price of $1,199.

From The Verge • Feb. 10, 2022

Felco No. 2 hand pruners are a Swiss-made classic, the crème de la crème of garden pruners and, lately, hard to come by.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2021

"This is the high-class motel, la crème de la crème, not to get too gross. Everyone would know everyone else's cars here."

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez