supreme
Noun pluralsupremes
Pluralsupremes
Formssupremes, supreming, supremed
- 1Dominant and holding power or authority over all others.
The court holds supreme authority over every lower tribunal in the country.
After the coup, the general declared himself supreme commander of the armed forces.
UsageCommon in titles: the Supreme Court, supreme commander, supreme leader.
Similarpredominant, preponderant
Oppositesubordinate
Note
Authority is the point here: whoever holds it has no one above them within that sphere, as with a supreme court or a supreme commander.
- 2Greatest, most excellent, or highest in degree, surpassing all others.
She faced the final round with supreme confidence in her training.
The firefighters showed supreme courage as they pulled the family from the wreck.
UsageUsually before a word for a quality or feeling: supreme confidence, supreme courage, supreme joy.
Similarutmost, extreme, greatest, ultimate, total
Oppositeslight, minimal, inferior
Note
Degree rather than rank: the word turns a quality up to its limit, and that quality need not be admirable. Supreme courage and supreme disgust sit side by side, and Jenna Weissman Joselit asked in 2021 whether Bugsy Siegel was the "supreme gangster." Unlike the "authority" meaning, nothing here commands anything.
- 3A pizza heaped with a wide assortment of the usual toppings, for example pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and olives.
She ordered a supreme with extra mushrooms for the whole table.
Half the group wanted a supreme while the rest preferred plain cheese.
UsageOften written Supreme on menus; in talk, you order a supreme or two supremes.
Note
A menu name more than a description: on a pizza list it stands among other named styles, the Hawaiian, the Capricciosa, the Meat Lovers', and there it often takes a capital as the Supreme.
Less common meanings
- 4To cut away the peel, pith, and membranes of a citrus fruit and remove its seeds, leaving only the bare segments.
The chef showed us how to supreme an orange for the dessert plate.
You should supreme the lemons before folding them into the dish.
UsageThe fruit is the object: supreme an orange. Regular forms: supremed grapefruit, supreming the limes.
Similarsegment
Note
The kitchen meanings came into English partly as a fresh borrowing of French suprême and partly by blending with the adjective already in use, so the cook's supreme and the ruler's supreme go back to the same Latin word.
- 5A breast of chicken or duck served with the wing bone still attached.
The recipe calls for a chicken supreme, leaving the wing bone on for presentation.
He carefully trimmed each duck supreme before searing the skin.
UsageThe bird usually comes first: a chicken supreme, a duck supreme.
Note
A poultry cut named with the French kitchen word behind the citrus-cutting verb. The breast comes off the bird with the wing bone left on, and the bird is usually named first: a chicken supreme, a duck supreme. That bone is what separates it from the fully trimmed portion, where every bone is gone.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The culinary noun comes from French suprême, the term also associated with citrus preparation. en.wiktionary.org
- A poultry supreme can retain the wing bone when the breast is removed. skillscompetencescanada.com
- The fully trimmed sense requires removal of every bone. en.wiktionary.org
- 6A portion of food from which all skin, bones, and other inedible parts have been removed, such as a skinless fish fillet.
The fishmonger prepared a cod supreme, taking out every bone and the skin.
He ordered a supreme of sole, trimmed clean for easy eating.
UsageEither pattern works: a cod supreme or a supreme of sole.
Similarfillet
Note
The broadest of the kitchen nouns, and the one where nothing inedible is left at all. Fish is the typical case, and the word fits either pattern, a cod supreme or a supreme of sole. It shares the logic of the citrus-cutting verb, which likewise strips away everything but the flesh.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- In this sense, a supreme has had all inedible parts removed. en.wiktionary.org
- Supreming citrus removes the peel, pith, membranes and seeds, leaving separated flesh segments. en.wikipedia.org
- 7The highest point of something.
- 8In botany, located at the highest part or point of a plant or plant structure.
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Origin
This word came into Middle English as suppreme, partly from Middle French suppreme/supreme and partly from its Latin source suprēmus, the superlative of superus ('that is above'). In the cooking sense it is partly an independent borrowing of French suprême. It is a doublet of supremo.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- Supreme derives from Middle English suppreme, partly through Middle French suppreme/supreme and partly directly from Latin suprēmus. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin suprēmus is the superlative of superus. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin superus means that is above. en.wiktionary.org
- The cooking word is independently borrowed from French suprême. en.wiktionary.org
- Supreme and supremo are doublets. en.wiktionary.org