tour de force

[ toor duh fawrs, -fohrs; French toor duh fawrs ]

noun

, plural tours de force [t, oo, rz d, uh, , fawrs, -, fohrs, too, r, d, uh, , fawrs].

1. an exceptional achievement by an artist, author, or the like, that is unlikely to be equaled by that person or anyone else; stroke of genius:

   Herman Melville's Moby Dick was a tour de force.

2. a particularly adroit maneuver or technique in handling a difficult situation:

   The way the president got his bill through the Senate was a tour de force.

3. a feat requiring unusual strength, skill, or ingenuity.

tour de force

/ ˈtʊə də ˈfɔːs; tur də fɔrs /

noun

1. a masterly or brilliant stroke, creation, effect, or accomplishment

tour de force

1. A feat accomplished through great skill and ability: “The speech was a tour de force; it swept the audience off its feet.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tour de force¹

1795–1805; < French: feat of strength or skill

Word History and Origins

Origin of tour de force¹

literally: feat of skill or strength

Example Sentences

Despite a later reputation for mangling his words, Prescott's performance in the conference hall was an impassioned tour de force.

From BBC

This in itself was a technical tour de force, but the job was only half done.

From BBC

This tour de force contains an hour’s worth of haunting, intertwining phrases that feel like a combination of Requiem and Kaddish.

From Los Angeles Times

Having watched the entire Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, I was struck by how it was it was a masterful tour de force display of diversity and American democracy at its best.

From Salon

Judges hailed it a "transport tour de force", adding that it is "a major infrastructure project that sets a new standard for inner-city transport".

From BBC