The best people or things in a group:
— The cream of England's young men were killed in the Great War.

synonym: pick.

Roget 352: semiliquidity; stickiness etc. adj.; viscidity, viscosity; gummosity^†, glutinosity^†, mucosity^†; spissitude^†, crassitude^†; lentor^†; adhesiveness etc. (cohesion) 46.    inspissation^†, incrassation^†; thickening.    jelly, mucilage, gelatin, gluten; carlock^†, fish glue; ichthyocol^†, ichthycolla^†; isinglass; mucus, phlegm, goo; pituite^†, lava; glair^†, starch, gluten, albumen, milk, cream, protein^†; treacle; gum, size, glue (tenacity) 327; wax, beeswax.    emulsion, soup; squash, mud, slush, slime, ooze; moisture etc. 339; marsh etc. 345.    ... show more

Roget 642: importance, consequence, moment, prominence, consideration, mark, materialness.    import, significance, concern; emphasis, interest.    greatness etc. 31; superiority etc. 33; notability etc. (repute) 873; weight etc. (influence) 175; value etc. (goodness) 648; usefulness etc. 644.    gravity, seriousness, solemnity; no joke, no laughing matter; pressure, urgency, stress; matter of life and death.    memorabilia, notabilia^†, great doings; red-letter day.    great thing, great point; main chance, the be all and the end all" [Macbeth]; cardinal point; substance, gist etc. (essence) 5; sum and substance, gravamen, head and front; important part, principal part, prominent part, essential part; half the battle; sine qua non; breath of one's nostrils etc. (life) 359; cream, salt, core, kernel, heart, nucleus; keynote, keystone; corner stone; trump card etc. (device) 626; salient points.    top sawyer, first fiddle, prima donna [Sp.], chief; triton among the minnows; 'it' [U.S.].   " ... show more

Roget 648: goodness etc. adj.; excellence, merit; virtue etc. 944; value, worth, price.    super-excellence, supereminence; superiority etc. 33; perfection etc. 650; coup de maitre [Fr.]; masterpiece, chef d'ouvre [Fr.], prime, flower, cream, elite, pick, A 1, nonesuch, nonpareil, creme de la creme, flower of the flock, cock of the roost, salt of the earth; champion; prodigy.    tidbit; gem, gem of the first water; bijou, precious stone, jewel, pearl, diamond, ruby, brilliant, treasure; good thing; rara avis [Lat.], one in a thousand.    beneficence etc. 906; good man etc. 948.    ... show more

Dutch: bloem, crème de la crème, fine fleur, keur, puikje, vlaggenschip

The part of milk containing the butterfat.

Dutch: crème, room
Polish: śmietana

Toiletry consisting of any of various substances in the form of a thick liquid that have a soothing and moisturizing effect when applied to the skin.

synonyms: emollient, ointment.

Roget 356: oil, fat, butter, cream, grease, tallow, suet, lard, dripping exunge^†, blubber; glycerin, stearin, elaine [Chem], oleagine^†; soap; soft soap, wax, cerement; paraffin, spermaceti, adipocere^†; petroleum, mineral, mineral rock, mineral crystal, mineral oil; vegetable oil, colza oil^†, olive oil, salad oil, linseed oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, nut oil; animal oil, neat's foot oil, train oil; ointment, unguent, liniment; aceite^†, amole^†, Barbados tar^†; fusel oil, grain oil, rape oil, seneca oil; hydrate of amyl, ghee^†; heating oil, #2 oil, No.    2 oil, distillate, residual oils, kerosene, jet fuel, gasoline, naphtha; stearin.    ... show more

Dutch: crème de la crème, verzachtend middel, verzachtend, crème, gel, zalf
Polish: krem

Make creamy by beating.

Beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight.

synonyms: bat, clobber, drub, lick, thrash.

Dutch: ranselen

Put on cream, as on one's face or body.

Remove from the surface:
— Skim cream from the surface of milk.

synonyms: cream off, skim, skim off.

Add cream to one's coffee, for example.