coup de grâce

[koo d^uh grahs]

noun

French.

plural

coups de grâce 

1. a death blow, especially one delivered mercifully to end suffering.

2. any finishing or decisive stroke.

coup de grâce

/ ku də ɡrɑs /

noun

1. a mortal or finishing blow, esp one delivered as an act of mercy to a sufferer

2. a final or decisive stroke

coup de grâce

1. The final blow: “He had been getting deeper and deeper in debt; the fates delivered the coup de grâce when he died.” The phrase is French for “stroke of mercy.” It originally referred to the merciful stroke that put a fatally wounded person out of his misery or to the shot delivered to the head of a prisoner after he had faced a firing squad.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coup de grâce¹

Literally, “blow of mercy”

Word History and Origins

Origin of coup de grâce¹

literally: blow of mercy

Example Sentences

When Fred loses his drugstore job after punching an “America First” proponent who tells Homer he made a pointless sacrifice, Marie delivers a promise of divorce papers along with the coup de grâce: “I gave you the best years of my life and what have you done?”

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And he added the coup de grace with his second and Australia's fourth try, sandwiching two scores by Angus Crichton and sealing a victory that brought the hosts down to earth with a sickening thump in front of 60,000 fans at Wembley.

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Esmee Brugts opened the scoring in the second minute, with Kika Nazareth extending the lead before Putellas got her name on the scoreboard before Caroline Graham Hansen's coup de grace on the whistle.

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But in a final judicial coup de grâce, no evidence of official acts may be introduced in such prosecutions—again, no matter how corrupt the official acts.

Read more on Slate

Australia's uncharacteristically tail failed to wag with Rabada providing the coup de grace to Australia's innings when he pinned back Starc's leg stump to claim his fifth wicket.

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When To Use

What does coup de grâce mean?

A coup de grâce is the final, decisive blow or strike—the deathblow or the knockout punch. It especially refers to one that’s considered merciful for putting someone out of their misery.Coup de grâce comes from French and literally means “stroke of mercy,” in which stroke refers to a physical blow, especially from a weapon. It can be used literally (and was formerly used in reference to executions). But it’s more often used figuratively to refer to an action that decisively brings something to an end, such as in sports when a team or player gets far enough ahead in scoring that the opponent can’t possibly come back to win.Coup de grâce is pronounced [ kooduh grahs ]. The proper plural form is coups de grâce. Example: That touchdown is certainly the coup de grâce that will knock the defending champions out of these playoffs.