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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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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The Islamists were seen as complicit in India’s worst plane hijack in 1999 and the 2008 attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, which killed several Indian citizens, including two senior diplomats.—
Happymon Jacob,
Time,
16 Oct. 2025
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Shannon will man larger perimeter players, but not necessarily the point of attack as often.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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What about the argument that ICE raids will create jobs for American workers?—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2025
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Zion Church was subject to an earlier raid and shutdown in 2018, during a previous crackdown on independent churches.—
Chandelis Duster,
NPR,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Is this onslaught of messaging and mudslinging working?—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Oct. 2025
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The breaches come as the air travel industry has been dealing with an onslaught of cyberattacks that have caused disruptions for customers and ground some of the world’s largest airports to a halt.—
Martin Goillandeau,
CNN Money,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But when Gwen falls into a dream state, the Grabber's assault on the group threatens to derail their plan entirely.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
18 Oct. 2025
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Of those six assault cases, Berchtold was only found guilty of rape of a child once and spent one year in jail, Jan told Vulture.—
Alex Gurley,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Trump again threatens to send Tomahawks to Ukraine The long-range missiles would allow Kyiv to conduct deep, long-range strikes into Russia.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2025
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The blaze – a result of a strike by Ukrainian long-range drones, according to sources in the country’s security services – was the third at the facility in the last month alone.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Israel responded with relentless ground and air offensives in Gaza, displacing more than 2 million Palestinians and killing more than 67,600, according to Gaza health authorities.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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The ensuing Israeli offensive on Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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On Sunday, Jeanty was stopped for a loss or no gain on four of his 10 runs against light boxes, and overall, the Las Vegas Raiders were stuffed 11 times on 29 attempts — the most of any team in a game this season.—
Vic Tafur,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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Ongoing battle over Louisiana's congressional map The controversy grew out of Louisiana’s attempt to account for population shifts after the 2020 census.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Chiefs opened the third quarter at their own 19-yard line, but Mahomes guided the offense with chunk gains to five different pass-catchers during an eight-play touchdown drive that took less than four minutes.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
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There has been optimism at times with this Cowboys team powered by the top offense in the NFL, but the defense continues to falter at the worst moments at crucial points in close games.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coup de main.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coup%20de%20main. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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