Meaning & use

salutatorian

noun·Academic

The student ranked second highest academically in a graduating class, traditionally chosen to give the opening speech at graduation.

See it in a sentence

As salutatorian, she delivered the welcome address before the valedictorian's closing remarks.

He missed becoming salutatorian by a fraction of a percentage point in his final grade average.

A note on using this word

Salutatorian is an American school tradition and is closely paired with, but ranked just below, valedictorian, the top-ranked student.

Words with a similar meaning

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