tour de force

noun \ ˌtu̇r-də-ˈfȯrs \

|Updated on: 13 Jul 2018

Examples: tour de force in a Sentence

Definition of tour de force

plural tours de force play \ˌtu̇r-də-ˈfȯrs\

: a feat or display of strength, skill, or ingenuity

the movie is a comic tour de force

See tour de force defined for English-language learners

Examples of tour de force in a Sentence

The book is a tour de force.
Her performance in the play was a real tour de force.

Recent Examples of tour de force from the Web

The opinion was a tour de force of historical exposition and originalist methodology—that is, interpreting the Constitution’s text as it was originally understood.

— david b. rivkin jr. and andrew m. grossman, WSJ, "A Champion of Constitutional Safeguards," 9 July 2018
Reynolds’ tour de force came two days after teammate Trea Turner torched Miami for 8 RBI.

— bobby bancroft, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Reynolds upstages Turner, drives in 10 runs in Nats' 18-4 annihilation of Marlins," 7 July 2018
Gadsby’s performance is a tour de force in confrontation Gadsby spends the first 17 minutes of Nanette acquainting her audience with her identity.

— aja romano, Vox, "Why Hannah Gadsby’s searing comedy special Nanette has upended comedy for good," 5 July 2018
Which means Donte DiVincenzo read the tea leaves perfectly on leaving Villanova after his 31-point NCAA title game tour de force.

— mike jensen, Philly.com, "NBA draft observations: Mikal Bridges trade was 'heist' for Sixers, evaluating Villanova's stars' landing spots | Mike Jensen," 22 June 2018
If nothing else, the movie is a double tour de force of acting.

— michael o’sullivan, kansascity, "Despite stellar performances, ‘The Seagull’ never quite takes flight," 14 June 2018
Streams of Thought is a five-song tour de force, a stunningly dense set produced by DJ 9th Wonder.

— dan deluca, Philly.com, "Is Black Thought better than Kanye West?," 4 June 2018
The Crusaders were a tour de force, posting one of the most lopsided wins in state tournament history.

— nick daschel, OregonLive.com, "Class 6A state boys golf: Jesuit romps, while Lincoln's Nate Stember claims individual title," 15 May 2018
The effort is being lauded by some DNA experts as a law enforcement tour de force.

— catherine ho, San Francisco Chronicle, "Investigator who used DNA database to catch Golden State Killer suspect will write a book," 2 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tour de force.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.