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

Other than the iconic single, not much else from the album is considered an indispensable part of Bowie's oeuvre. —Alex Heigl, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026

Healing and haunting, Perfume Genius’ wide-ranging oeuvre mines beauty from pain and finds hope in the desolate. —Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2026

The books are cornerstones of Krasznahorkai’s Nobel-winning oeuvre, and the films are two of the defining movies of their era and established Tarr as a giant of cinema. —John Penner, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026

The curator adds that Anderson became an admirer of the late American artist’s oeuvre after visiting an exhibition of his famed shadow boxes at the Menil Collection, in Anderson’s native Houston, in the late 1990s. —Stephanie Sporn, HollywoodReporter, 7 Jan. 2026

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