Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

beau monde

American  
[boh mond, boh mawnd] / ˈboʊ ˈmɒnd, boʊ ˈmɔ̃d /

noun

  1. the fashionable world; high society.


beau monde British  
/ ˈbəʊ ˈmɒnd, bo mɔ̃d /

noun

  1. the world of fashion and society

"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 beau monde

1705–15; < French: literally, fine world. See beau, monde

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.

Also swirling around Mr. Perrotin in the crush of street-style poseurs were beau monde bohos like Kaws, Alexandre de Betak, André Saraiva and Jefferson Hack.

From New York Times • Oct. 13, 2018

She would sit and talk long into the night with the flamboyant artist Francis Bacon and the rest of that decade's rakish beau monde.

From BBC • Sep. 11, 2018

Proust met Hahn in 1894 at the beau monde salons of Madeleine Lemaire, a Parisian painter who illustrated his work.

From The Guardian • May 22, 2018

Le beau monde from Brussels opted for Knokke-Heist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2016

He ordered that I be bought a new bag-wig, and my mother a whole series of costly dresses a la mode du beau monde.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "beau monde" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com