oeuvre

noun

oeu·​vre ˈu̇-vrə 

ˈər-, 

ˈə-, 

ˈœ- 

plural oeuvres ˈu̇-vrə 

ˈə(r)-, 

ˈœ- 

: a substantial body of work constituting the lifework of a writer, an artist, or a composer

a catalogue of Rembrandt's oeuvre

scrupulously examines Dickens' oeuvre in order to demonstrate how his convictions helped to determine the shape of his novels

—G. J. Worth

Synonyms of oeuvre

• output
• corpus

Examples of oeuvre in a Sentence

a novel that occupies a relatively minor position in the author's oeuvre

Recent Examples on the Web

All of Tarantino's movies contain nods of varying vigor to the other films in his oeuvre, but The Hateful Eight resembles none so much as Reservoir Dogs, with its cast of shifty characters trapped in one location (a cast that includes former Dogs Tim Roth and Michael Madsen). —Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Dec. 2025

Its first major foray into the oeuvre was Netflix’s 2022 adaptation of Alice Oseman’s popular 2016 webcomic Heartstopper, about two British schoolboys who fall in love. —Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 22 Dec. 2025

The latest report to enter the oeuvre is a real doozy. —Frederick Dreier, Outside, 19 Dec. 2025

But rather than embrace Chalamet’s ping pong ball orange method dressing, Paltrow is looking back at her own sartorial oeuvre in Calvin Klein Collection. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 15 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, literally, "work," going back to Old French ovre, going back to Latin opera "activity, effort, attention, work," collective derivative from oper-, opus "work, effort, product of labor" — more at opus

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for oeuvre

• louvre