tableau

American  

[ta-bloh, tab-loh] / tæˈbloʊ, ˈtæb loʊ /

noun

plural

tableaux, tableaus

1. a picture, as of a scene.

2. a picturesque grouping of persons or objects; a striking scene.

3. a representation of a picture, statue, scene, etc., by one or more persons suitably costumed and posed.

4. Solitaire. the portion of a layout to which one may add cards according to suit or denomination.

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tableau British  

/ ˈtæbləʊ /

noun

1. See tableau vivant

2. a pause during or at the end of a scene on stage when all the performers briefly freeze in position

3. any dramatic group or scene

4. logic short for semantic tableau

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Etymology

Origin of tableau

First recorded in 1690–1700; from French: “board, picture,” Middle French tablel, diminutive of table table

Explanation

A tableau is a dramatic picture. If you catch a glance into the Oval Office and see top advisers speaking to each other with intensity, you behold a dramatic political tableau. Tableau comes from the old French for "picture, or painted target." We usually use tableau to describe a vivid living scene. If you are a journalist and want to describe the tension in a courtroom, you might write a verbal tableau of the judge, the jury, and the witness box. People used to entertain themselves by doing tableau vivant, or living pictures, by reenacting perfectly the frozen scene of a famous painting.

Example Sentences

As if Mr. Maher’s tableau weren’t enough, the evening’s varied cast now includes the champion U.S. men’s hockey team, fresh from the Olympics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

The album was “Transference,” its cover a grainy seventies tableau — a boy slinking low in a golden wingback chair, viridian curtains pooling behind him, a table lamp casting an almost aggressively orange glow.

From Salon • Dec. 30, 2025

But as the company grew, marketing its locations as a tableau in which to “stay awhile” ultimately meant there was a finite number of people they could sell coffee to per day.

From Slate • Dec. 22, 2025

Christmas often inspires visions of perfection: the geometrically precise tree, the artfully arranged mantel, the candlelit feast a flawless tableau.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

Other than our chaos, it was so quiet on the block, you could almost hear the tick, tick, tick of the property values dropping as passersby took in the tableau of horror.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

Related Words

• illustration
• spectacle