epitome

noun

epit·o·me i-ˈpi-tə-mē

: a typical or ideal example : embodiment

the British monarchy itself is the epitome of tradition

Richard Joseph

: a summary of a written work

: a brief presentation or statement of something

: brief or miniature form

—usually used with in

epitomic

ˌe-pə-ˈtä-mik

adjective

or epitomical

ˌe-pə-ˈtä-mi-kəl

Did you know?

Epitome Has Greek Roots

Epitome first appeared in print in the early 16th century, when it was used to mean "summary." If someone asks you to summarize a long paper, you effectively cut it up, mentioning only the most important ideas, and the etymology of epitome reflects this process: it comes from Greek epitemnein, meaning "to cut short." Your summary probably also presents all the key points of the original work, which may explain why epitome eventually came to be used for any person or object that is a clear or good example of an abstraction, as in "the epitome of grace" or "the epitome of health." We could go on and on... or could we?

Example Sentences

Terns, nicknamed sea swallows by fishermen, are superb flying machines, the epitome of beauty on the wing.

E. Vernon Laux, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2001 Manchester, then known as 'Cottonopolis' and perceived throughout the world as the epitome of the whirling fierceness of the industrial revolution. …

Roy Jenkins, Gladstone, (1995) 1997 Hamilton thought the bank was a fait accompli, but he had not reckoned on Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Jefferson, the lover of rural virtues, had a deep, almost visceral hatred of banks, the epitome of all that was urban.

John Steele Gordon, American Heritage, July/August 1990 I didn't tell him that, at the time, I thought the place to be the epitome of bourgeois comfort; in those days I thought that there was some connection between creative talent and penury.

Ishmael Reed, "August Wilson," 1987, in Writin' Is Fightin', 1988 the golden rule is often cited as the epitome of moral conduct: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” the prestigious prep school prides itself on being widely regarded as the epitome of tradition and old-fashioned values See More

Recent Examples on the Web Chuck Yeager sat in the cockpit as the ur-pilot, the epitome of the Right Stuff.

Jeff Macgregor, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Sep. 2022 The British Empire, the vernacular epitome of colonization and colonial rule, became known as the British Commonwealth in 1926.

Alison Fishburn, Longreads, 17 Sep. 2022 And that’s been the epitome of the first three weeks of the season for the Buckeyes’ second-year starting quarterback.

Stephen Means, cleveland, 17 Sep. 2022 The epitome of the blowout came soon after halftime when the Cowboys faced third-and-14.

Dave Campbell, ajc, 21 Nov. 2022 Goldman, long the epitome of high finance, has been trying to round out its investment-banking and trading units in part by growing its cards business.

Annamaria Andriotis, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2022 This blanket is the epitome of luxury without the expensive cost.

Jasmine Hyman, Peoplemag, 1 Nov. 2022 Getting through 17-shot performance from UCLA, especially a late onslaught Stanford endured, was the epitome of that growth on a night that meant more to the players than any other.

Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Oct. 2022 Cassie Howard, a self-destructive high schooler who’s still very much coming into her own, on HBO’s Euphoria; and Olivia Mossbacher, the epitome of a teenage Twitter troll, in Mike White’s The White Lotus. Coat, Fendi.

ELLE, 13 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'epitome.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.