chef-d'oeuvre
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chef-d'oeuvre
Borrowed into English from French around 1610–20
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Thirty-five years after "Die Hard" hit theaters, the Bruce Willis vehicle maintains its rep as a chef-d'oeuvre due to its perennial relevance.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2023
Frears’ chef-d’oeuvre has everything: accessibly rooted in a true story, it has a powerful but controlled display of emotions, is tempered with poignancy and wit, and has great performances from stars and supporting cast.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 16, 2020
UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance is presenting Mac's chef-d'oeuvre, "A 24-Decade History of Popular Music," in a four-show series at the Theatre at Ace Hotel beginning Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2018
Still, I couldn’t help thinking that I’d already attended this party, the centerpiece of Bard SummerScape’s callow adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s “Master and Margarita,” the chef-d’oeuvre of Russian literature from the age of Stalin.
From New York Times ● Jul. 19, 2013
This was his sister Persis, Persis the practical and reliable, this woman who sugared the stew, and allowed the chef-d'oeuvre of the dinner to slip her mind.
From Other People's Business The Romantic Career of the Practical Miss Dale by Smith, Harriet L.
"Oh, you're going to be so impressed with me," he coos as he peers at another of his chefs-d'oeuvre.
From Time Magazine Archive
These splendid chefs-d'oeuvre are strangely mixed with those commonly known as the "prison Fiddles"—a sorry title.
From The Violin Its Famous Makers and Their Imitators by Hart, George
We find chefs-d'oeuvre, for instance on a geographical map, on the handle of a chisel, on the barrel of a musket.
From The American Architect and Building News, Vol. 27, No. 733, January 11, 1890 by Various
The marvels of French travel, no more than the chefs-d'oeuvre of French literature, are unlimited.
From East of Paris Sketches in the Gâtinais, Bourbonnais, and Champagne by Betham-Edwards, Matilda
It contains, besides, the St John of Raphael and many other chefs-d’oeuvre of the greatest masters in the world.”
From The Way of All Flesh by Butler, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
