Showing results for cum laude.

cum laude

American

[koom lou-dey, -duh, -dee, kuhm law-dee] / kʊm ˈlaʊ deɪ, -də, -di, kʌm ˈlɔ di /

adverb

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

cum laude British

/ kʊm ˈlaʊdeɪ, kʌm ˈlɔːdɪ /

adverb

with praise: the lowest of three designations for above-average achievement in examinations Compare magna cum laude summa cum laude

"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

Etymology

Origin of cum laude

1890–95, < Latin: with praise

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:

cum laude

He graduated summa cum laude from New York University in 1948, and earned a master’s in economics two years later and a Ph.D in economics in 1977.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026

She enrolled in classes at Emory at 16 and then transferred to Barnard where she majored in creative writing, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 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

In 1937, at age eighteen, I graduated from West Virginia State summa cum laude with degrees in mathematics and French.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023