fait accompli

[fe ta-kawn-plee]

noun

French.

plural

faits accomplis 

1. an accomplished fact; a thing already done.

   The enemy's defeat was a fait accompli long before the formal surrender.

fait accompli

/ fɛt akɔ̃pli /

noun

1. something already done and beyond alteration

fait accompli

1. Something that has already been done: “The company president did not discuss the new hiring policy with her board of directors; instead she put it into effect and presented the board with a fait accompli.” From French, meaning “an accomplished fact.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fait accompli¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Word History and Origins

Origin of fait accompli¹

literally: accomplished fact

Example Sentences

But once it was a fait accompli, Newsom’s administration immediately started looking at how California voters would receive the plan — and it wasn’t good.

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The terrorists know this and are dragging out the return of the dead hostages to create a fait accompli in Gaza.

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Even though everyone assumed his return was a fait accompli, there were a few red flags around.

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Or at least not as much of a fait accompli as we’ve seen in the recent past.

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"We thought it was a fait accompli. We assumed that was where the orcas were going, it looked like a done deal."

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