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.
Their fated romance is the final piece of the puzzle, the pièce de résistance that helps De Palma’s film rise above the other thrillers of its ilk.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
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
If you want to buy a Birkin bag, the pièce de résistance from the French luxury retailer Hermès, you should know that you probably can’t.
From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2024
But the pièce de résistance of the praiser of the past is now marriage, with discreet hints about the birth-rate.
From Mental Efficiency And Other Hints to Men and Women by Arnold Bennett
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.
