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• Beaux-Arts
  Beaux-Arts

  adjective

  noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, popularly associated with the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, that prevailed in France in the late 19th century and that was adopted in the U.S. and elsewhere c1900, characterized by the free and eclectic use and adaptation of French architectural features of the 16th through 18th centuries combined so as to give a massive, elaborate, and often ostentatious effect, and also by the use of symmetrical plans preferably allowing vast amounts of interior space.
• beaux-arts
  beaux-arts

  plural noun

  another word for fine art

Beaux-Arts

American  

[boh-zahr, boh-zar] / boʊˈzɑr, boʊˈzar /

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, popularly associated with the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, that prevailed in France in the late 19th century and that was adopted in the U.S. and elsewhere c1900, characterized by the free and eclectic use and adaptation of French architectural features of the 16th through 18th centuries combined so as to give a massive, elaborate, and often ostentatious effect, and also by the use of symmetrical plans preferably allowing vast amounts of interior space.

2. resembling the architecture, architectural precepts, or teaching methods of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris: often used in a pejorative sense to designate excessive formalism disregarding considerations of structural truth, advanced aesthetic theory, rational planning, or economy.

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plural noun

1. (lowercase) the fine arts, as painting or music.

beaux-arts British  

/ bəʊˈzɑː /

plural noun

1. another word for fine art

2. (modifier) relating to the classical decorative style, esp that of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris

   beaux-arts influences

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Etymology

Origin of Beaux-Arts

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Beaux-Arts beaux-arts

But for the last seven years, the Flatiron has been shrouded in scaffolding, its Beaux-Arts exterior hidden from throngs of tourists who came to view it.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

The retailer occupied various locations over the years and moved to its current Beaux-Arts home in 1928.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2025

The larger of the two is a monumental bronze figure on horseback, cast by Beaux-Arts sculptor Charles Cary Rumsey in the first decade of the 20th century and titled “The Dying Indian.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2025

Amid the backdrop of Mannerist statues and the names of great artists gracing the storied walls of Les Beaux-Arts, where Garavani, 91, once honed his craft, the runway was — in contrast — unmistakably contemporary.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2023

Outside the Academie des Beaux-Arts he wanders for hours through the shops selling prints, eventually buying a drawing of the Hotel de Lauzun.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Completed in 1923, the power plant closed in 2008, leaving the main turbine hall of its beaux-arts building abandoned—until last year, when it became a place to play padel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Lawmakers and ex-lawmakers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, friends, former aides, former antagonists — all sat in a fan of folding white chairs arrayed before the beaux-arts landmark, sweltering in unseasonable 85-degree heat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2023

Built in 1928 as part of a beaux-arts civic center, it sits in the heart of Duluth’s now-blighted downtown, where cocktail bars and coworking spaces form a checkerboard with abandoned storefronts.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 12, 2023

The Lyceum later became the Academia Imperial de Belas-Artes under Emperor Pedro I. French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, who had studied at France’s prestigious Academie des beaux-arts, was part of the group.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

His life so fitted for pleasure and the beaux-arts became a combat which never ceased.

From Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence by Kite, Elizabeth S.