faux pas
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of faux pas
First recorded in 1670–80; from French: literally, “false step”
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.
Elle meanwhile manages to commit faux pas after faux pas in a community that gives all-new meaning to 50 shades of gray and sneers at anything and everyone from L.A.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
When a nameless secretary drops a sheaf of papers, Kornev’s response to help is instinctive, yet we cringe at the careless faux pas he commits in this unfeeling society.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
For centuries, appearing in public without the proper headgear was a faux pas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Which is just as well, because earlier this month Sam made the ultimate relationship faux pas.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
Some of the pilots were drifting back from the bar, still laughing at the rare faux pas of a colonel’s wife calling her husband at happy hour.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
