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

Bergdorf Goodman is considered the crème de la crème of department stores.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 21, 2025

"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

Toptal likes to brag that it hires only the crème de la crème of tech talent.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2022

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

"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