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
Steve Carell’s character in the likable, watchable and even lovable “Rooster” is classic Steve Carell: Self-aware, charming, boyish, incapable of reading a room, sidestepping a faux pas or calculating nuance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
Which is just as well, because earlier this month Sam made the ultimate relationship faux pas.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
After Meredith makes a faux pas during a family dinner, asking Thad and Patrick marble-mouthed questions about the nature versus nurture debate, Sybil locks eyes with her son.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2025
I felt extremely shy, wary of committing a faux pas, and unequipped to participate in the high-flown and rapid-fire conversations.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
