supreme

¹ American  

[suh-preem, soo-] / səˈprim, sʊ- /

adjective

1. highest in rank or authority; paramount; sovereign; chief.

2. of the highest quality, degree, character, importance, etc..

   supreme courage.

3. greatest, utmost, or extreme.

   supreme disgust.

4. last or final; ultimate.

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suprême ² American  

[suh-preem, -preym, soo-, sy-prem] / səˈprim, -ˈpreɪm, sʊ-, süˈprɛm /

noun

1. Also called sauce suprême.  a velouté made with a rich chicken stock.

2. Also called suprême de volaille.  a dish prepared or served with this sauce, especially boned chicken breast.

3. Also supreme

   1. a bowl or the like designed for the serving of cold foods in an inner container that is nestled in cracked ice.

   2. a dessert or appetizer served in such a container.

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supreme ¹ British  

/ sʊˈpriːm, sjʊ- /

adjective

1. of highest status or power

   a supreme tribunal

2. (usually prenominal) of highest quality, importance, etc

   supreme endeavour

3. greatest in degree; extreme

   supreme folly

4. (prenominal) final or last, esp being last in one's life or progress; ultimate

   the supreme judgment

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suprême ² British  

/ sjʊ-, sʊˈpriːm, -ˈprɛm /

noun

1. Also called: suprême sauce.  a rich velouté sauce made with a base of veal or chicken stock, with cream or egg yolks added

2. the best or most delicate part of meat, esp the breast and wing of chicken, cooked in suprême sauce

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Other Word Forms

• supremely adverb
• supremeness noun

Etymology

Origin of supreme¹

First recorded in 1510–20; from Latin suprēmus “uppermost,” superlative of superus “upper,” adjective derivative of super ( see super-)

Origin of suprême²

First recorded in 1830–40; from French, from Latin suprēmus supreme

Explanation

If you are the greatest, the most powerful, and the highest, you are supreme. The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. A supreme being is a god or other higher power. A supreme leader is an all-powerful ruler. Sometimes, when everyone else is driving you crazy, you might daydream about being the supreme leader of your school, office, or maybe the entire country, so you could tell everyone else what to do. Or you might just order a supreme pizza, which usually has every imaginable topping on it.

Example Sentences

It argued that the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which generally renders federal law supreme over state law, provided a complete defense.

From Slate • Apr. 22, 2026

So too was "Mao's Guilt": a life-sized replica of the so-called supreme leader kneeling in a pose of solemn contrition.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

Brazilian judicial authorities have declared him a fugitive, and in December the country's supreme court asked the US to extradite him.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

In the abstract, the pope’s words might apply to any number of leaders, including Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

He fought the monsters and freed the earth from them just as Greece freed the earth from the monstrous idea of the unhuman supreme over the human.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton