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tour de force

Definition of tour de force

Examples of tour de force in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tour de force.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1802, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near tour de force

tour d'horizon

Cite this Entry

“Tour de force.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tour%20de%20force. Accessed 15 Sep. 2024.

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tour de force

[ t oo r d uh fawrs , - fohrs ; French too r d uh fawrs ]

Herman Melville's Moby Dick was a tour de force.

The way the president got his bill through the Senate was a tour de force.

• a feat requiring unusual strength, skill, or ingenuity.

/ ˈtʊə də ˈfɔːs; tur də fɔrs /

• a masterly or brilliant stroke, creation, effect, or accomplishment
• A feat accomplished through great skill and ability: “The speech was a tour de force; it swept the audience off its feet.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tour de force 1

Example Sentences

In her aching memoir, she embarks on a tour de force examination of her childhood, marked first by her mother’s abandoning her when she was a toddler and later by the death of her beloved father.

Through the late 1960s, Capote claimed to be writing his masterpiece, his tour de force based on his swans, but several deadlines passed for it.

At 35, Hawa Hassan is already a tour de force when it comes to Somali food in America.

Understated yet opulent, measured, and intensely creepy, it’s a tour de force in balancing uncomfortable levels of tension and suspense with deep pathos.

Page’s tour de force performance in Hard Candy led, two years later, to Juno, a low-budget indie film that brought Page Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations and sudden megafame.

His family memoir, Sweet and Low, is a tour de force of reporting and memory—tender, curious, and exceptionally funny.

It is a tour de force of reporting: 13,000 words on a two-week deadline.

It's also a masterpiece of choreographed c--tery—Joffrey's final tour de force.

And, of course, she's best known for her ball-busting tour de force as Ed Helms's wife in The Hangover.

As a result, his version is a technical tour de force but a movie that never gets under your skin.

As a tour de force in the gentle art of lying, the snake-story is justly esteemed.

As a tour de force of geometrical imagination it would be difficult to parallel this hypothesis.

The physical tour de force, was one of those feats of agility in which Neb had been my instructor, ten years before.

If the Mastersingers was a little less successful as a work of art we should still have to regard it as an amazing tour de force.

The music for such incidents cannot be of the highest beauty; here we have one of the cases of a tour de force.

Words and phrases

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tour de force noun

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What does the phrase tour de force mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the phrase tour de force . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

How common is the phrase tour de force ?

How is the phrase tour de force pronounced, british english, where does the phrase tour de force come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the phrase tour de force is in the 1800s.

OED's earliest evidence for tour de force is from 1802, in a letter by Lord Elgin.

tour de force is a borrowing from French .

Etymons: French tour .

Nearby entries

• toupee, n. 1727–
• toupeed, adj. 1847–
• toupet, n. 1728–
• toupeted, adj. 1903–
• toupet-titmouse, n. 1785–
• tour, n. c1320–
• tour, v. 1746–
• Tourangeau, n. & adj. 1883–
• Tourangeois, adj. & n. 1857–
• tourbillion | tourbillon, n. 1477–
• tour de force, n. 1802–
• Tour de France, n. 1922–
• tour d'horizon, n. 1952–
• tourelle, n. c1330–
• tourer, n. 1927–
• tourette, n.¹ 1881–
• Tourette, n.² 1899–
• Tourettism, n. 1981–
• tourification, n. 1802–
• tourify, v. 1820–
• tourifying, adj. 1825–

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Meaning & use

Pronunciation, entry history for tour de force, n..

tour de force, n. was first published in 1913; not yet revised.

tour de force, n. was last modified in July 2023.

Revision of the OED is a long-term project. Entries in oed.com which have not been revised may include:

• corrections and revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations which have been added in subsequent print and online updates.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into tour de force, n. in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1913)

• Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

• View tour de force in OED Second Edition

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Citation details

Factsheet for tour de force, n., browse entry.

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Definition of tour de force noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

tour de force

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Definition of 'tour de force'

• tour de force

tour de force in American English

Tour de force in british english, examples of 'tour de force' in a sentence tour de force, browse alphabetically tour de force.

• tour a site
• tour company
• tour d'horizon
• tour destination
• tour director
• tour en l'air
• All ENGLISH words that begin with 'T'

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• tour de force

"hazaña de fuerza," 1802, francés; ver tour (n.) + force (n.).

También de: 1802

Entradas relacionadas tour de force

c. 1300, "fuerza física," del antiguo francés force "fuerza, fortaleza; coraje, valentía; violencia, poder, compulsión" (siglo XII), del latín vulgar *fortia (origen también de antiguo español forzo , español fuerza , italiano forza ), uso sustantivo del plural neutro del latín fortis "fuerte, poderoso; firme, constante; valiente, audaz" (ver fort ).

Los significados "poder para convencer la mente" y "poder ejercido contra la voluntad o el consentimiento" se derivan del siglo XIV. El significado "cuerpo de hombres armados, una organización militar" se registra por primera vez a finales del siglo XIV (también en el antiguo francés). El sentido de la física proviene de la década de 1660; force field se documenta a partir de 1920. Relacionado: Forces .

c. 1300, "un turno, un cambio de guardia," del antiguo francés tor, tourn , tourn "un turno, truco, ronda, circuito, circunferencia," de torner, tourner "girar" (ver turn (v.)). El sentido de "un paseo o excursión continua" es de la década de 1640. Tour de France como una carrera en bicicleta está registrada en inglés desde 1916 ( Tour de France Cycliste ), distinguida de una carrera de automóviles con el mismo nombre. The Grand Tour , un viaje a través de Francia, Alemania, Suiza e Italia, solía ser el toque final en la educación de un caballero.

Tendencias de tour de force

Proporcionado únicamente para fines informativos por sistemas de traducción automática. Vea el original en: Etymology, origin and meaning of tour de force

Entradas del diccionario cerca de tour de force

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"All That"

Best New Track

Pop/R&B

Schoolboy / Interscope

April 8, 2015

Carly Rae Jepsen reached fame as the memory of a guile-free pop past. "Call Me Maybe" was not superficially retro: it did not recall a specific era so much as it did a pre-EDM, pre-hip-hop, pre-pubescent pop spirit. It was the sugar rush freed not just from its wrapping, but from shape, taste and texture. In its unselfconscious sweetness was a reminder of how popular music sounds at its denominator, how it's experienced by our naive inner 10-year-olds. "Call Me Maybe" was wildly successful for obvious reasons (big hooks, clever concept). But underlying saudade built Carly Rae a more committed audience, one for whom innocence, backlit by the threat of its loss, sparks frisson. (This was embodied by Carly Rae herself, nearly a decade older than what was perceived as her teenpop fanbase.)-=-=-=-

In contrast, "All That"—the second single from Carly Rae's incoming third album—telegraphs its retro costume, clad head-to-toe in mid-1980s pastiche: LinnDrum-esque percussion, cascading synthesizer arpeggios, slap-bass. This isn't exactly a novel maneuver in 2015. The-Dream kickstarted a Prince -appropriation craze years ago, and is currently readying a comeback record; Beyoncé flirted with mid-'80s R&B two albums back. At this point, even Jason Derulo is cashing in on memories of memories of the gated-drum era. Importantly, however, "All That" is a ballad. The '80s (and 1990s, for that matter) were much more ballad-friendly than our current pop soundscape; perhaps that's why the sound of the '80s so perfectly renders the poised, patience-testing ballad format, to help it go down easier. It gives you something to grab onto until the tour de force climax at the song's conclusion.

Co-songwriter Dev Hynes ' interest in the '80s plays well with critics, but it takes on extra dimension framing a major pop star with a distinct, established sensibility. Suddenly, the stakes are higher: channeling a specific era goes from music nerd novelty to a bold statement. Lyrically, "All That" is fairly blank—the most memorable image comes from the brief mention of a lighthouse—but that's Jepsen speaking to the broadest audience. In a subtle touch, the Carly Rae of "Call Me Maybe" comes through in the chorus, where again innocence is set against its absence: where finding a friend feels like a profound step beyond becoming lovers.

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Meaning of tour de force in English

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• a feather in your cap idiom
• accomplishment
• achievement
• achievement test
• have something to your credit idiom
• have something under your belt idiom
• secret sauce
• sense of achievement
• stratosphere

Examples of tour de force

Translations of tour de force.

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scientific methods of solving crimes, that involve examining objects or substances related to a crime

Treasure troves and endless supplies (Words and phrases meaning ‘source’)

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On the Verge's Tied is a One Man Tour De Force

D. L. Groover October 2, 2022 6:31AM

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Sun Valley Tour de Force

No speed limit, july 18 –  20, 2024, one of the world’s most unique charity events.

ABOVE ALL, IT’S A CHARITY EVENT

Since its first year in 2018, Sun Valley Tour de Force has donated over $1.9 million dollars to programs supporting the local nonprofits in Blaine County, Idaho. Laser focused on building a healthy community, event proceeds have contributed to supporting families struggling with food insecurity, childhood education, mental health services, and more.

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• tour de force

noun as in spectacular achievement

Weak matches

• accomplishment
• achievement
• chef-d'oeuvre
• feat of strength
• grand achievement
• great achievement
• magnum opus
• master stroke
• masterpiece
• performance
• pièce de résistance
• stroke of genius

Example Sentences

In her aching memoir, she embarks on a tour de force examination of her childhood, marked first by her mother’s abandoning her when she was a toddler and later by the death of her beloved father.

Through the late 1960s, Capote claimed to be writing his masterpiece, his tour de force based on his swans, but several deadlines passed for it.

At 35, Hawa Hassan is already a tour de force when it comes to Somali food in America.

Understated yet opulent, measured, and intensely creepy, it’s a tour de force in balancing uncomfortable levels of tension and suspense with deep pathos.

Page’s tour de force performance in Hard Candy led, two years later, to Juno, a low-budget indie film that brought Page Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations and sudden megafame.

His family memoir, Sweet and Low, is a tour de force of reporting and memory—tender, curious, and exceptionally funny.

It is a tour de force of reporting: 13,000 words on a two-week deadline.

It's also a masterpiece of choreographed c--tery—Joffrey's final tour de force.

And, of course, she's best known for her ball-busting tour de force as Ed Helms's wife in The Hangover.

As a result, his version is a technical tour de force but a movie that never gets under your skin.

As a tour de force in the gentle art of lying, the snake-story is justly esteemed.

As a tour de force of geometrical imagination it would be difficult to parallel this hypothesis.

The physical tour de force, was one of those feats of agility in which Neb had been my instructor, ten years before.

If the Mastersingers was a little less successful as a work of art we should still have to regard it as an amazing tour de force.

The music for such incidents cannot be of the highest beauty; here we have one of the cases of a tour de force.

Related Words

Words related to tour de force are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word tour de force . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in something completed successfully; goal reached

• acquirement
• acquisition
• actualization
• consummation
• contrivance
• effectuation
• encompassment
• fulfillment
• realization

noun as in model

noun as in achievement, often by maneuver

• coup d'état
• coup de mâitre
• successful stroke

noun as in achievement

• happenin'

Viewing 5 / 18 related words

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

DragonForce

Official Site

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DRAGONFORCE ANNOUNCE FALL 2024 TOUR DATES IN MEXICO

DRAGONFORCE announce Fall 2024 tour dates in Mexico.  This is part of their Come To Latin America Tour 2024 .  This return has been over five years in the making, and an extended set is planned for the occasion.

Tickets are on sale now. To secure your spot, visit dragonforce.com/shows .

22 OCT – Morelia, Mexico – Teatro Morelos –   Tickets 23 OCT – Guadalajara, Mexico – C4 Concert House –  Tickets 25 OCT – Club Latino – Club Latino –  Tickets 26 OCT – Mexico City, Mexico – Circo Volador –  Tickets

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DRAGONFORCE ANNOUNCE FALL 2024 SOUTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

DRAGONFORCE ON ROCKSMITH+ OUT 6th JUNE 2024