supreme
1 Americanadjective
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highest in rank or authority; paramount; sovereign; chief.
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of the highest quality, degree, character, importance, etc..
supreme courage.
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greatest, utmost, or extreme.
supreme disgust.
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last or final; ultimate.
noun
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Also called sauce suprême. a velouté made with a rich chicken stock.
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Also called suprême de volaille. a dish prepared or served with this sauce, especially boned chicken breast.
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Also supreme
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a bowl or the like designed for the serving of cold foods in an inner container that is nestled in cracked ice.
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a dessert or appetizer served in such a container.
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adjective
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of highest status or power
a supreme tribunal
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(usually prenominal) of highest quality, importance, etc
supreme endeavour
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greatest in degree; extreme
supreme folly
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(prenominal) final or last, esp being last in one's life or progress; ultimate
the supreme judgment
noun
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Also called: suprême sauce. a rich velouté sauce made with a base of veal or chicken stock, with cream or egg yolks added
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the best or most delicate part of meat, esp the breast and wing of chicken, cooked in suprême sauce
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing supreme
American Naturalization Test, List 1
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"Dragon, Dragon"
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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.
See Examples For:
Evenepoel is widely considered the third-best rider in the world for overall ability for his supreme time trial skills, but typically he suffers on steep climbs.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Barrett described many versions of these reforms as “complex,” “tricky,” and filled with “awkwardness” in determining how to create an office that would respect the court’s rule as both independent and constitutionally supreme.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
And Iran’s armed forces couldn’t prevent the destruction of most of its conventional military power, as well as of its civilian leadership and supreme leader.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
An adviser to Iran's supreme leader said the Strait of Hormuz was more important than "dozens of atomic bombs".
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
A look of supreme satisfaction crossed her face.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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He began to whisking up a variation on sauce suprême that would incorporate sherry vinegar and mustard made with grape must.
From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2020
But it is also threadbare elegant with its hint of sherry, and you could call the gravy a French sauce suprême if you liked.
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2017
There may be less comfort here; but nobody feels the want of it; and there is certainly more amusement—and amusement is here truly "le suprême bonheur."
From The Diary of an Ennuyée by Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)
Robespierre, a few days before his fall, declared atheism to be aristocratic, reinstated l'Être suprême, and gave a festival in his honor.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 04, No. 26, December, 1859 by Various
Take them up, drain well, and stew them in half a pint of sauce suprême, with a dozen small mushrooms, for ten minutes.
From Choice Cookery by Owen, Catherine
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.