summa

American  

[soom-uh, suhm-uh] / ˈsʊm ə, ˈsʌm ə /

noun

plural

summae, summas

1. a comprehensive work or series of works covering, synthesizing, or summarizing a particular field or subject.

2. a work or series of works that is a summary of all human knowledge.

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summa British  

/ ˈsʊmɑː /

noun

1. medieval Christianity theol a compendium of theology, philosophy, or canon law, or sometimes of all three together. The Summa Theologica of St Thomas Aquinas, written between 1265 and 1274, was the most famous of all such compendia

2. rare a comprehensive work or survey

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Etymology

Origin of summa

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin; Latin: sum

Compare meaning

How does summa compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Magna vs. summa

Example Sentences

She graduated summa cum laude from Duke University, where she studied public policy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026

He received his BA summa cum laude from Indiana University in 1995 and his JD magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1998.

From Salon • Aug. 7, 2025

She graduated summa cum laude from Michigan, earned her doctoral degree at MIT, where she first started her work on black hole imaging in 2013, then became a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2024

I graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Berkeley; participated as a Fulbright scholar; and completed coursework for a Ph.D. at UC Davis.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2023

Both of us had earned our degrees summa cum laude.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok