preeminent
adjective
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.
Examples of preeminent in a Sentence
David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
Since the 19th century, the region south of Sacramento has been the preeminent pear producing region.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 23 Feb. 2026
MercadoLibre stands as the preeminent e-commerce and fintech ecosystem in Latin America.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2026
Frederick Wiseman, a preeminent documentary filmmaker, has died.
—Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for preeminent
Cite this Entry
“Preeminent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preeminent. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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preeminent
adjective
