salutatorian
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of salutatorian
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; salutatory + -an
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Explanation
A salutatorian is a graduate who finished with the second highest rank in his or her class. Only the valedictorian did better. Being the salutatorian of your graduating class is a great honor. Traditionally, the salutatorian gives the opening remarks at the graduation ceremony. So, just as a salutation is a greeting, a salutatorian is responsible for offering a formal greeting at the event. Having been a salutatorian looks great on a resume, as long as you spell it correctly.
Vocabulary lists containing salutatorian
A Graduation Lexicon
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Our America
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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.
“It’s hard,” said salutatorian Mayah Flores, who plans to attend Cal State Long Beach as a liberal studies major, and then return to Maywood Academy as a teacher.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025
“That James did not end up class salutatorian may seem unfair. It was surely disappointing. But it was not unconstitutional,” Duncan wrote.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 19, 2022
At Roosevelt’s ceremony Tuesday, class salutatorian Winston Page said that while each graduating class has had its own struggles, he doubted any other class had struggles “quite as unique as ours.”
From Washington Post ● Jun. 21, 2022
After graduating as Princeton’s 2006 salutatorian, Padilla earned a master’s degree from Oxford and a doctorate from Stanford.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2021
She was in the spelling bee, she was in the Academic Olympics, she was the salutatorian of her class.
From "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago" by LeAlan Jones
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.
