cheval de bataille
Americannoun
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a horse used in battle; charger.
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a favorite topic of discussion, argument, etc.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
As our cheval de bataille stands ready saddled and bridled for us just now, we must indulge ourselves in mounting him for a brief excursion.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 69, July, 1863 by Various
They have overdone their attacks on him, and as it has unluckily been their sole cheval de bataille, they have ridden it till it has not a leg to stand upon.
From The Greville Memoirs A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV, Vol. III by Greville, Charles
Upon this cheval de bataille Sir Geoffrey Pomfret rode over all obstacles.
From The Soul of Susan Yellam by Vachell, Horace Annesley
By-the-bye, that Polly Potiphar has been mean enough to send out to Paris for the very silk that I relied upon as this summer's cheval de bataille, arid has just received it superbly made up.
From The Potiphar Papers by Curtis, George William
I doubt if Homer will be a cheval de bataille sufficiently strong to carry you safely through the intricacies of this enterprise.'
From The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Vol. 1 (of 3) 1809-1859 by Morley, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
