pièce de résistance
Americannoun
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pièces de résistance
plural
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the principal dish of a meal.
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the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
noun
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the principal or most outstanding item in a series or creative artist's work
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the main dish of a meal
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pièce de résistance
First recorded in 1780–90; from French: literally, “piece of resistance”; development of senses is unclear
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 opening four minutes of “Up,” the wordless montage depicting Carl and Ellie’s life together, is often cited as Pixar’s pièce de résistance of heartbreak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
But the pièce de résistance of her spooky spread?
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2025
As the pièce de résistance, she harnessed herself to a Chevy Silverado — which itself was attached to a food truck trailer — and dragged it 40 feet in 40 seconds.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2024
His pièce de résistance was riding through the dining room after dinner on a bicycle with a port tray balanced on the handlebars, a trick that was noted in his obituary in The Telegraph.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
But beyond all doubt it was a capital pièce de résistance for great eaters; and before the dinner was over, I saw ample reasons to induce any hotel-keeper to give it his patronage.
From Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands by W. J. S.
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.
