putsch
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of putsch
1915–20; < German Putsch, originally Swiss German: literally, violent blow, clash, shock; introduced in sense “coup” in standard German through Swiss popular uprisings of the 1830s, especially the Zurich revolt of Sept. 1839
Explanation
When a group rises up and overthrows a government, it is sometimes called a putsch, or — more commonly — a coup. This word shares a pronunciation with an informal term for dog, pooch, but there the similarity ends. A putsch is a quick and dirty overthrow of a government; it tends to be used most often for places that experience a lot of these. Putsch comes from the Swiss German word of the same spelling, which means "revolt," or "a sudden blow or push." Another word for a putsch is a coup d'état.
Vocabulary lists containing putsch
Persepolis
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The Faithful Spy
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Sapiens
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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.
Aung San's wartime comrade Ne Win, who had taken the helm of the armed forces after the leader's assassination in murky circumstances, swooped in in a putsch he justified as protection against Myanmar's disintegration.
From Barron's • Dec. 23, 2025
The overwhelming favourite in the race on Saturday is the man who led that peaceful putsch and has dominated the political scene ever since, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2025
Though they largely put down the putsch, many then turned their wrath on Alawites, a largely impoverished minority that constitutes some 10% of the country’s population and which dominated Assad-era security services and state bureaucracy.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2025
Gen. Sylvain Ekenge, initially offered little detail about the purported putsch in the capital, Kinshasa, other than to say that the plotters and their leader had been “put out of action.”
From New York Times • May 19, 2024
And I also fail to understand the timing of The Brain's putsch.
From The Brain by Blade, Alexander
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.
