summa cum laude

[ soom-uhkoom lou-dey, -duh, -dee; suhm-uhkuhm law-dee ]

See synonyms for summa cum laude on Thesaurus.com

adverb

with highest praise: used in diplomas to grant the highest of three special honors for grades above the average.

Origin of summa cum laude

First recorded in 1895–1900, summa cum laude is from Latin summā cum laude

Compare cum laude, magna cum laude.

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

How to use summa cum laude in a sentence

Amanpour graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a B.A. in journalism.
See Who’s Coming to Women in the World 2013: Speakers & Participants | | March 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Before meeting her husband, she reached an upper rung on Wall Street, after graduating summa cum laude from Georgetown.
South Carolina's Original Sinners | Jack Bass | June 30, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
But the compelling weight of her experience is revealed in her résumé: summa cum laude from Princeton, editor of Yale Law Review.
A Persistent Pioneer | Patricia J. Williams | May 26, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
These are indicated as "plain," "cum laude," "magna cum laude" and "summa cum laude."
Vocational Psychology: Its Problems and Methods | Harry L. Hollingworth
Eventually Austen went back and graduated—not summa cum laude, honesty compels me to add.
Mr. Crewe's Career, Complete | Winston Churchill

British Dictionary definitions for summa cum laude

summa cum laude

/ (ˈsʊmɑː kʊm ˈlaʊdeɪ) /

adverb, adjective

mainly US with the utmost praise: the highest of three designations for above-average achievement in examinations. In Britain it is sometimes used to designate a first-class honours degree: Compare cum laude, magna cum laude

Origin of summa cum laude

from Latin

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

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