elite
Americannoun
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elites
plural
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(used with a plural verb) the choicest or best of anything considered collectively, especially of a group or class of people.
The elite of the contemporary art scene were all represented at the gallery.
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(used with a plural verb)
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people of the highest financial or social level of society.
Only the elite received invites to the event.
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a group of people exercising the major share of authority or influence within a larger group.
The scandal involved most members of the political party's power elite.
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a member of a group of people who have a great deal of power, influence, or social capital.
The elites don't care about ordinary people's problems.
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a type, widely used in typewriters, that is approximately 10-point in size and has 12 characters to the inch.
adjective
noun
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(sometimes functioning as plural) the most powerful, rich, gifted, or educated members of a group, community, etc
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Also called: twelve pitch. a typewriter typesize having 12 characters to the inch
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of elite
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English elit “a person elected to office,” from Middle French e(s)lit, past participle of e(s)lire “to choose”; see elect
Explanation
The elite are the group thought to be the best and having the highest status. In the middle ages, only elite men were taught to read and write. There are elite schools, elite teams, and elite players, some really the best and some just calling themselves the best. Who can join the basketball elite besides LeBron James and Michael Jordan? That's a matter of opinion. Elite is used with a singular or plural verb, depending on whether these special people are considered together as a group or as individual members of a group.
Vocabulary lists containing elite
The Outsiders
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Outliers
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Achievement First 6th Grade IA 1 Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In diligent, exhausted Japan, self-described elite "competitive sleepers" vied to lie down, relax and nap the fastest and deepest in a contest organised by a mattress company.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
SINGAPORE—Every autumn, an elite group of 3,000 business travelers flies halfway around the world for a high-stakes event with millions of dollars on the line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Is it a little weird that metal is now welcome as an elite Las Vegas entertainment commodity?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
McColgan, a four times Olympian and Ferguson, known for his kilted trek across the US to Scotland's World Cup opening match this year, will start the proceedings on with elite wheelchair competitors first to go.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
They all wore matching dark blue and orange, as if they were all on the same elite sports team.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
It will help us explain why in the Ramesside period, officials such as Paser chose to reuse, modify or build tombs adjacent to the monuments of the preceding 18th-dynasty elites.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Kaspersen describes Rachel Entrekin's historic victory at Cocodona 250, one of the most demanding ultramarathons in the world, as an "inspiration" among the elites to "dare to try".
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
What I found is that this is not just a protest of one project in one area by one couple of American elites.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
It was founded in 1920 by elites including Talaat Harb as the first bank in the country wholly owned by Egyptians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The major argument running through the letters throughout 1813–1814 concerned their different definitions of social equality and the role of elites in leading and governing the American republic.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
