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hors concours

American  
[awr kawn-koor] / ɔr kɔ̃ˈkur /

adjective

French.
  1. noting an artist, architect, or the like, not competing or not qualified to compete for the prizes in an exhibit or competition.

  2. noting or pertaining to a work or project submitted by such a person to an exhibit or competition.


hors concours British  
/ ɔr kɔ̃kur /

adjective

  1. (of an artist, exhibitor, etc) excluded from competing

  2. without equal; unrivalled

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hors concours

Literally, “out (of the) competition”

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.

The result was actually the top 13, since No. 1 was declared hors concours and there were two ties.

From Time Magazine Archive

A few artists, such as Picasso and De Kooning, were by their own request hors concours.

From Time Magazine Archive

Would the wives, daughters, or fiancées of the members of the commission be hors concours?

From H. R. by Lefevre, Edwin

Humility had nothing to do with it—as little even as envy would have had; I was below humility, just as we were together outside of competition, mutually "hors concours."

From A Small Boy and Others by James, Henry

This may be a reason why it was applied to a lady hors concours for Ronsard.

From Aspects of Literature by Murry, J. Middleton

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