summa cum laude

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

ADJECTIVE

with the greatest honor

Synonyms

WEAK

highest honors with highest honor with highest praise

ADVERB

with the greatest honor

Synonyms

WEAK

highest honors with highest honor with highest 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.

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

She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2021 with a triple major — political science, French and psychology — and a minor in history.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2024

Ultimately he graduated from Duke summa cum laude.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French