supremacy

noun

su·​prem·​a·​cy sə-ˈpre-mə-sē 

sü-,

 also  -ˈprē-

plural supremacies

1

: the quality or state of being supreme

especially : a position of unquestioned authority, dominance, or influence

military/naval supremacy

In the 20th century, two completely different models of how to run an economy battled for supremacy.

—Bill McKibben

Natal's well-watered valleys … became by the end of the 18th century the site of a contest for supremacy …

—Noel Mostert

Every high school boasts its elite squad of lookers: sparkling teeth, merciless anatomy, sunny filaments of hair … . Between classes, they parade down the halls, trooping their supremacies like Clydesdales.

—Richard Lacayo

2

: ultimate authority or power

belief in the supremacy of God

Synonyms

• ascendance
• ascendence
• ascendancy
• ascendency
• dominance
• domination
• dominion
• hegemony
• imperium
• predominance
• predominancy
• preeminence
• reign
• sovereignty
• sovranty

Examples of supremacy in a Sentence

the Roman empire had supremacy over the entire Mediterranean world

the supremacy of cashmere among wools accounts for its high price

Recent Examples on the Web

Automotive Kia's tiny pod camper battles Toyota for modular micro-RV supremacy November 06, 2024 Who would've thought less than two weeks after our late look at the Toyota Kayoibako mini-camper concept, Kia would release an adorable tiny camper of its own? —New Atlas, 20 Dec. 2024

Fox News has since dominated the race for cable news supremacy, according to Mediaite. —Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 18 Dec. 2024

Much has been written about Spotify's supremacy as a streaming service, in great part due to its music discovery algorithms and recommendation engine built on collaborative filtering model, NLP and audio models. —Diana Spehar, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024

Glinda’s naturally assumed supremacy is apparent from her attention-grabbing arrival along the waterways in a gondola loaded with pink luggage. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

supreme + -acy (as in primacy)

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing supremacy

• white supremacy

Kids Definition

supremacy

noun

su·​prem·​a·​cy sə-ˈprem-ə-sē 

plural supremacies

1

: the quality or state of being supreme

2

: supreme authority or power