tour de force

noun

ˌtu̇r-də-ˈfȯrs 

plural tours de force ˌtu̇r-də-ˈfȯrs 

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

the movie is a comic tour de force

Synonyms

• deed
• exploit
• feat
• number
• stunt
• trick

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 on the Web

Nearby is the exhibition’s tour de force, Caribe Express/Caribe Tours, a 27-foot-wide painting that shows men in vejigante masks serving tourists who lounge in a resort’s glistening pool. —Damaly Gonzalez, ARTnews.com, 26 Sep. 2024

The small details observed in the finishing both within the dial and on the case are a tour de force, once again forcing a closer look to fully appreciate. —Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 1 Nov. 2024

Stream on Paramount + Seriously Unsettling: Midsommar (2019) Florence Pugh gives a tour de force as a grieving young woman who accompanies her distant boyfriend to a midsummer festival in a remote area of Sweden. —Eric Andersson, People.com, 12 Oct. 2024

Back at Higashiyama, be sure to reserve an omakase tour de force at Sushi Nagi. —Jake Emen, Robb Report, 1 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined above