force de frappe
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of force de frappe
C20: literally: striking force
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.
Macron said the eight European countries could take part in exercises of France's air-launched nuclear capacity – or force de frappe - and also host air bases where France's nuclear bombers could be stationed.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
The country’s force de frappe, its nuclear strike force, was crucial to its political self-image, and those weapons required, France claimed, the South Seas testing.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
De Gaulle still speaks of his "omnidirectional" nuclear force de frappe, but he no longer bestrides Europe like a Gallic Cyclops.
From Time Magazine Archive
Mitterrand also endorsed plans to modernize the other two pillars of France's nuclear force de frappe, bombers and missiles.
From Time Magazine Archive
Implicitly, he almost seemed to endorse Charles de Gaulle's skeptical rationale for building the French force de frappe in 1959; that is, in the final analysis, no U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
