beau geste

American

[boh zhest] / boʊ ˈʒɛst /

French.

a fine or noble gesture, often futile or only for effect.

beau geste British

/ bo ʒɛst /

noun

a noble or gracious gesture or act, esp one that is meaningless

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of beau geste

literally: beautiful gesture

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.

Still, in city politics, even the beau geste can be fraught.

From New York Times • Oct. 15, 2015

All the old givens -- beau geste, military master plans, unswerving belief in the officer class -- were fatally irrelevant to a guerrilla war.

From Time Magazine Archive

Their taste for the beau geste turns out to be their undoing.

From Time Magazine Archive

At his death his widow observed: "His life was one long beau geste."

From Time Magazine Archive

The dresser loudly acclaimed Madame's action as a beau geste.

From The Mountebank by Locke, William John

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023