as in attack
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence
the Continental Army's attack on the British-Hessian encampment at Trenton, New Jersey, ranks as one of the most brilliant coups de main of the war
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of coup de main
Ryan Reynolds walked arm in arm with Blake Lively, and there were polite air-kisses and an appearance by Martha Stewart—but like the film’s coup de main, the night was filled with surprises.
—
Lauren Sanchez, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2018
Lauren Sanchez, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coup de main
Noun
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Good's defenders – including city and state leaders – are calling what happened an unjustified attack; federal authorities say the agent was acting in self-defense.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
9 Jan. 2026
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In Kyiv, a CNN reporter said that the attack began around midnight, starting with multiple drone strikes on residential buildings.—
Kosta Gak,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Federal officials have said agents, including those part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are seeing increases in assaults and threats against them.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
11 Jan. 2026
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However, after his conviction on assault and harassment charges, Marvel dropped him from future projects.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Three police officers lean on a silver car blocking a Louvre entrance, hours after thieves carried out a daylight raid on French crown jewels.—
NPR,
NPR,
9 Nov. 2025
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Advertisement 'Exhausted and bruised' The first video from last week, in which agents drive away with a toddler still in the back, took place in Los Angeles during a raid at Home Depot in the Cypress Park neighborhood.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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That’s with a 44 percent offensive-zone starting percentage.—
Scott Powers,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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David Ellison launched his WBD offensive shortly after closing the Paramount Skydance merger in August with a trio of unsolicited offers for the entire company, all rejected.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
3 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Gatica was tracked down, arrested on charges of DUI and related offenses, and booked into the Orange County Jail.—
Greg Wehner , Bill Melugin,
FOXNews.com,
10 Nov. 2025
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The Tigers’ offense, which has scored at least 88 points in all three games, erupted for a season-best showing.—
Scott Chasen,
Kansas City Star,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Horn was ruled out with a concussion in the middle of Stafford’s onslaught of successful passes.—
Mike Kaye
Updated January 11,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Jan. 2026
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In total, the trail took me around five hours to descend and about seven hours to climb up, with one overnight at Phantom Ranch on the Grand Canyon floor to break up the lactic acid onslaught.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Most of the strikes occur in the summer, killing 20 people each year, according to the NWS.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
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And Tagovailoa shook off that early interception with a 9-yard scoring pass to Malik Washington — capping a ferocious seven-minute, 92-yard drive — and then a 38-yard TD strike to Jaylen Waddle.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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His reckless decision to escalate the aggression and number of immigration agents is a causal factor, regardless of the outcome of an investigation into this tragic death.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
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When the music dissolves into an ethereal, ambient soundscape and a psychedelic, spiritual journey, that’s where finding the right amount of energy, aggression, violence, and grief, to support the story and to explain things that the dialog couldn’t, was the most challenging part.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coup de main.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coup%20de%20main. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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