Definition of putsch
:a secretly plotted and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government
What's Trending Now
More Trending Words
Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd
putsch was our Word of the Day on 03/06/2012. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Recent Examples of putsch from the Web
-
The number of lèse-majesté cases has exceeded 100 since the putsch.
-
The murky origins and circumstances of the putsch are still the subject of fevered debate, and Gulen's mooted extradition to his homeland seems nowhere in sight.
-
But any trace of American involvement in the putsch had been wiped from the report, causing historians to call it a fraud.
-
But any trace of American involvement in the putsch had been wiped from the report, causing historians to call it a fraud.
-
But any trace of American involvement in the putsch had been wiped from the report, causing historians to call it a fraud.
-
But any trace of American involvement in the putsch had been wiped from the report, causing historians to call it a fraud.
-
But any trace of American involvement in the putsch had been wiped from the report, causing historians to call it a fraud.
-
David King's engrossing and well-researched new book provides context explaining why so many tolerated Hitler before and after his failed beer hall putsch.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'putsch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
In its native Swiss German, putsch originally meant "knock" or "thrust," but these days both German and English speakers use it to refer to the kind of government overthrow also known as a coup d'état. Putsch debuted in English shortly before the tumultuous Kapp Putsch of 1920, in which Wolfgang Kapp and his right-wing supporters attempted to overthrow the German Weimar government. Putsch attempts were common in Weimar Germany, so the word appeared often in the stories of the English journalists who described the insurrections. Adolf Hitler himself even attempted a putsch (known as the Beer Hall Putsch), but he ultimately gained control of the German government via other means.
Origin and Etymology of putsch
Learn More about putsch
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up putsch? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
