oeuvre

American  

[œ-vr^uh] / ˈœ vrə /

noun

French.

oeuvres plural

1. the works of a writer, painter, or the like, taken as a whole.

2. any one of the works of a writer, painter, or the like.

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oeuvre British  

/ œvrə /

noun

1. a work of art, literature, music, etc

2. the total output of a writer, painter, etc

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Usage

What does oeuvre mean? An artist’s oeuvre is their total body of work. Oeuvre can also refer to a single work of art, but it most commonly refers to the collective work of an artist over a lifetime. Oeuvre is a formal word most commonly used in the discussion of artists like painters, composers, and literary figures. Because it’s a French loanword and it’s a kind of hard to pronounce, oeuvre is sometimes considered a bit pretentious. Example: Common throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s oeuvre is the theme of indulgence, most evident in his standout novel The Great Gatsby.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• oeuvres
  plural

Etymology

Origin of oeuvre

ultimately from Latin opera, plural of opus work

Explanation

The oeuvre of a writer or artist refers to all their work combined. Writing one book isn't much of an oeuvre, but writing ten could be. This is a French word often used by critics — people who comment on the work of writers, painters, musicians, and other artists. An oeuvre is the total output of an artist. Just like critics give a thumbs up or down to a single movie, they give opinions on oeuvres as well. You could say a band's current album stinks, but since they've made great music for 10 years, they still have an impressive oeuvre.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oeuvre oeuvres

The exhibit showcases other Mexican masters, including Kahlo’s husband, Diego Rivera, but the big draw has been Kahlo, whose oeuvre has become a touchstone of feminist and Latin American iconography.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

An Ohio statewide remix of Toni Morrison’s oeuvre connects the ghosts of ‘Beloved’ to the neighborhoods of ‘Sula’ to reveal the real narratives of the American experiment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Certainly it’s fascinating to see Wilder, never a strictly naturalistic playwright, continuing in his latter years to embrace the surrealist style that marked much of his dramatic oeuvre.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

It should come as little surprise, then, that Mao is a recurring muse in the Gao brothers' oeuvre.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026

Dr. Sussman was also an amateur photographer, and he captured some portraits of Bobby that worked their way into the Fischer oeuvre years later.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Always an industrious worker, his oeuvres ranged from stage set design to photography and printmaking.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

Garg's case is a window to the massive oeuvres of several Indian singers and issues of ownership right and compensation associated with them.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2025

The two centuries-old museum said in a statement it had set up a research team to study the 25 oeuvres and determine if there are other works that were also confiscated.

From Reuters ● Sep. 20, 2022

Subsequent Rembrandt years — 1956 and 1969 — have concentrated on bringing together masterpieces by Rembrandt and his pupils so as to further delineate their individual oeuvres.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2019

When she married my brother I don't suppose she took him for a member of a societe de bonnes oeuvres.

From Madame De Mauves by James, Henry