tableau

noun

tab·​leau ˈta-ˌblō  ta-ˈblō 

plural tableaux ˈta-ˌblōz 

ta-ˈblōz

also tableaus

1

: a graphic description or representation : picture

winsome tableaux of old-fashioned literary days

—J. D. Hart

2

: a striking or artistic grouping : arrangement, scene

3

[short for tableau vivant (from French, literally, living picture)] : a depiction of a scene usually presented on a stage by silent and motionless costumed participants

Examples of tableau in a Sentence

The houses are grouped together in a charming tableau.

Recent Examples on the Web

The production, by Michael Mayer, reaches for tableaux of all-American realness: a Wyoming bar with a Coors sign, a Las Vegas mall with a Cinnabon. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

Adding to this display will be a lovely crescent moon just above Venus, creating a pleasing celestial tableau. —Joe Rao, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2024

Now, thanks to a private client in Miami, Proba has taken things a step further—realizing one such tableau in custom glazed tiles. —Charlotte Collins, Architectural Digest, 17 Dec. 2024

Duchamp spent the last twenty years of his life working in secret on a three-dimensional tableau vivant of a naked, headless female body in a realistic landscape, a strangely disturbing image that is both a summary of his meta-retinal art and a total departure from it. —Calvin Tomkins, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French tablel, diminutive of table, from Old French

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing tableau

• tableau curtain

Kids Definition

tableau

noun

tab·​leau ˈtab-ˌlō  ta-ˈblō 

plural tableaux -ˌlōz 

-blōz

also tableaus

: a scene or event shown by a group of persons in costume who remain silent and motionless