# crème de la crème

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/crme-de-la-crme
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Best of the best; something superlative; the very best.

## Examples

- These students are the crème de la crème of the school.
- This luxury hotel attracts the crème de la crème of the fashion world.
- The judges choose the crème de la crème from thousands of art entries.
- The chef only uses ingredients that are the crème de la crème for his signature dishes.
- The luxury car show features the crème de la crème of modern engineering, displaying vehicles that most people can only dream of owning.
- To win the championship, the team must beat the crème de la crème of international athletes who have gathered for the tournament.
- After years of rigorous training, the orchestra finally recruited the crème de la crème of young musicians from across the continent.

## Origin

Borrowed from the French phrase *crème de la crème*, which translates literally as "cream of the cream." The term entered English to denote the best of a particular category, functioning on the logic that if the cream is the best part of the milk, then the cream of that cream must be the finest portion of the whole.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.