summa cum laude

American  

[soom-uh koom lou-dey, -duh, -dee, suhm-uh kuhm law-dee] / ˈsʊm ə kʊm ˈlaʊ deɪ, -də, -di, ˈsʌm ə kʌm ˈlɔ di /

adverb

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

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summa cum laude British  

/ ˈsʊmɑː kʊm ˈlaʊdeɪ /

adverb

1. 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

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Etymology

Origin of summa cum laude

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

Example Sentences

He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

I spoke with Charlotte Woodward, who graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and now works as Education Program Associate for National Down Syndrome Society.

From Salon • Mar. 21, 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

Hanks proved to be the most popular person on stage, posing for selfies with faculty members before the ceremony and giving congratulatory fist bumps to dozens of Harvard students who graduated summa cum laude.

From Seattle Times • May 25, 2023

Charlie pulls his grades up and graduates summa cum laude from Harvard.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon