coup de grâce
(ko͞o′ də gräs′)n. pl. coups de grâce (ko͞o′) 1. A deathblow delivered to end the misery of a mortally wounded victim.
2. A finishing stroke or decisive event.
[French : coup, stroke + de, of + grâce, mercy.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
coup de grâce
(ku də ɡrɑs) n,
pl coups de grâce (
ku də ɡrɑs)
1. a mortal or finishing blow, esp one delivered as an act of mercy to a sufferer
2. a final or decisive stroke
[literally: blow of mercy]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
coup de grâce
(ˌku də ˈgrɑs)
n., pl. coups de grâce (ku) 1. a death blow, esp. one delivered mercifully to end suffering.
2. any finishing or decisive stroke.
[1695–1705; < French: literally, blow of mercy]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
coup de grâce
A French phrase meaning blow of mercy, that is, a final killing blow that puts a fatally wounded person out of his misery; used to mean the action or event that finally destroys or ends something.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited