preeminent

adjective

pre·​em·​i·​nent prē-ˈe-mə-nənt 

: having paramount rank, dignity, or importance : outstanding, supreme

preeminently adverb

Did you know?

What is noteworthy about the following sentence? "Mount Kilimanjaro is a prominent eminence on the Tanzanian landscape." You very likely recognized two words that are closely related to preeminent: prominent and eminence. All three words are rooted in the Latin verb stem -minēre, which is taken to mean "to stand out" though there is no record of its use without a prefix. Mount also deserves an honorable mention: it comes from the Latin mont- or mons, meaning "mountain," which is understood to share a common ancestor with -minēre. Mount leads us in turn to paramount, a word closely related in meaning to preeminent.

Synonyms of preeminent

• greatest
• main
• highest
• primary
• foremost
• dominant
• predominant
• leading
• big
• first
• principal
• chief
• supreme

Examples of preeminent in a Sentence

She's the preeminent chef in a city that has many good ones.

The poem is a preeminent example of his work.

Recent Examples on the Web

At the time, the preeminent cable channel for high-quality proprietary entertainment was HBO, with The Sopranos, Sex and the City, The Wire, Band of Brothers, and more. —Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026

Hernández caught a ceremonial first pitch from Young Miko, one of the island’s preeminent musical artists. —Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026

As a passer, Gilgeous-Alexander has narrowed the gap, even if Jokic remains the sport’s preeminent playmaker by consensus. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2026

In the past three months, several Bay Area cities and municipalities have moved to terminate or disable their contracts with Flock Systems, one of the preeminent vendors of ALPR technology. —Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin praeeminent-, praeeminens, from Latin, present participle of praeeminēre to be outstanding, from prae- + eminēre to stand out — more at eminent

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for preeminent

• eminent
• remanent

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Kids Definition

preeminent

adjective

pre·​em·​i·​nent prē-ˈem-ə-nənt 

: having supreme rank, dignity, or importance : outstanding

preeminently adverb