coup de théâtre

[ kooduh tey-ah-truh ]

noun,plural coups de thé·â·tre [kooduh tey-ah-truh]. /kudə teɪˈɑ trə/. French.
  1. a surprising or unexpected turn of events in a play.

  2. a sensational and unexpected turn in the plot of a drama.

  1. any theatrical trick intended to have a sensational effect.

Words Nearby coup de théâtre

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use coup de théâtre in a sentence

  • It did so with jet planes, pulling off a coup de theatre it has never since repeated or matched on the American homeland.

    Stop Punishing Fliers | Tunku Varadarajan | December 28, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • But for effect—to produce a striking coup de theatre—we could not have come more opportunely.

    Bardelys the Magnificent | Rafael Sabatini
  • That surprise was due to the sly craft of Ambroise, who merrily explained how he had prepared it like a masterly coup de theatre.

    Fruitfulness | Emile Zola
  • I cried, as vexed as an author for whom some one has spoiled the effect of a coup de theatre.

    Sarrasine | Honore de Balzac
  • On the fourth of July, the day Congress met, the government made use of a coup de theatre.

    Lincoln | Nathaniel Wright Stephenson

British Dictionary definitions for coup de théâtre

coup de théâtre

/ French (ku də teɑtrə) /


nounplural coups de théâtre (ku də teɑtrə)
  1. a dramatic turn of events, esp in a play

  2. a sensational device of stagecraft

  1. a stage success

Origin of coup de théâtre

1
literally: stroke of the theatre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012