mot juste

American  

[moh zhyst] / moʊ ˈʒüst /

noun

French.

PLURAL

mots justes

1. the exact, appropriate word.

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mot juste British  

/ mo ʒyst /

noun

1. the appropriate word or expression

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Example Sentences

So the word is out, and it’s le mot juste.

From New York Times

Gainsbourg is bilingual, but French is her first language; she pauses occasionally in our conversation to search around for le mot juste.

From The Guardian

And as Barnum ended nearly a century of trying to edit that sense of wonder into the mot juste, he finally nailed it at the end.

From Washington Post

For every occasion, for every emotion – exhaustion, indifference, malevolence, anxiety – a SpongeBob mot juste.

From The Guardian

I always think that’s a wonderful fault, if it is a fault—constantly looking for not just the mot juste, as it were, but to give a spin on the mot juste.

From The New Yorker