elite

American  

[ih-leet, ey-leet] / ɪˈlit, eɪˈlit /

Or élite

noun

1. (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.

2. (used with a plural verb)

   1. people of the highest financial or social level of society.

      Only the elite received invites to the event.

   2. 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.

3. 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.

4. a type, widely used in typewriters, that is approximately 10-point in size and has 12 characters to the inch.

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adjective

1. representing the choicest or most select; best.

   The program is taught by an elite group of authors.

elite British  

/ ɪˈliːt, eɪ- /

noun

1. (sometimes functioning as plural) the most powerful, rich, gifted, or educated members of a group, community, etc

2. Also called: twelve pitch.  a typewriter typesize having 12 characters to the inch

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or suitable for an elite; exclusive

Other Word Forms

• antielite noun
• nonelite noun
• superelite noun

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”; elect

Example Sentences

The mission was led by elite special operations forces and was supported by every branch of the U.S. military, as well as intelligence and law-enforcement agencies, officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet like many of the relatively more open-minded elite, his once-flexible positions have hardened during the unrest, which has posed the stiffest challenge to the regime in decades.

From The Wall Street Journal

SINGAPORE—After a year of gung-ho news about China’s gains in artificial intelligence, some elite Chinese AI researchers are coming to a more pessimistic conclusion.

From The Wall Street Journal

It is not necessarily surprising that the better-trained and better-equipped Delta Force soldiers emerged virtually unscathed, especially given their elite reputation within the most powerful military in the world.

From BBC

But fairs emphasized the typical, not the singular; the popular, not the elite; the commercial, not the reverential.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• aristocracy
• celebrity
• establishment
• society