crème de la crème

[ kremduhlah krem; French krem duhla-krem ]
See synonyms for crème de la crème on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the very best; choicest parts or members.

Origin of crème de la crème

1
First recorded in 1840–50; literally, cream of the cream

Words Nearby crème de la crème

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use crème de la crème in a sentence

  • It was the fashion among the creme de la creme to keep aloof from him.

    Endymion | Benjamin Disraeli
  • There was present the creme de la creme of the city's society.

British Dictionary definitions for crème de la crème

crème de la crème

/ French (krɛm də la krɛm) /


noun
  1. the very best

Origin of crème de la crème

1
literally: cream of the cream

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for crème de la crème

crème de la crème

[ (krem duh luh krem) ]


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.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.