chef d'œuvre

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chef d'œuvre

/ˌʃeɪˈdɜː.v(ɹə)/ UK
/-ˈdɜː.vɹə/ UK
/ˌʃɛdˈəːv/ US
/-ˈdɜː.vɹə/ US
/ˌʃeɪ-/ US
/ʃɛf-/ US

Where it comes from

Unadapted borrowing from French chef-d'œuvre.

noun chefs d'œuvre · chef d'oeuvre · chef-d'oeuvre · chef-d'œuvre

A piece of work that has been given much critical praise, especially one considered the greatest work of a person's career. It was there that the Romans exposed their chefs-d’œuvre of painting and of sculpture.
Similar: masterpiece, magnum opus
A work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship.
A work created in order to qualify as a master craftsman and member of a guild.

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MLA

"chef d'œuvre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chef%20d'%C5%93uvre. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

chef d'œuvre. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chef%20d'%C5%93uvre

Chicago

"chef d'œuvre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chef%20d'%C5%93uvre.

BibTeX

@misc{chef_d_uvre_2026,
  title = {chef d'œuvre},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chef%20d'%C5%93uvre},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}