au fond

American

[oh fawn] / oʊ ˈfɔ̃ /

adverb

French.

at bottom or to the bottom; basically; in reality; fundamentally.

au fond British

/ o fɔ̃ /

adverb

fundamentally; essentially

"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

Etymology

Origin of au fond

First recorded in 1780–90

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.

It's often said – even McEwan's friends have said this – that he is, au fond, a brilliant story writer, a sprinter not a marathon runner.

From The Guardian • Aug. 31, 2014

However, au fond, I think we share the same point of view.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2013

As another Nazi general wrote of Keitel later, "He was certainly not wicked au fond, as one occasionally reads of him."

From Time Magazine Archive

The French response to De Gaulle was strongly emotional, but the French are, au fond, a pre-eminently reasonable rather than sentimental people.

From Time Magazine Archive

And because au fond, she was such a dear, it made it all the more pathetic to see her in such surroundings.

From Mufti by McNeile, H. C. (Herman Cyril)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023