Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A clever saying; a witticism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A clever saying, phrase or witticism; often, a witty riposte in dialogue.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French : bon, good + mot, word.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French bon mot ("good word").

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Examples

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Comments

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  • A clever remark; witticism. (from WordCraft)

    May 20, 2008

  • Plural of Bon Mot is Bons Mots.

    June 3, 2019

  • To grande dame Fanny (Harriet Harris), their doubts are ignoble. “Marriage isn’t a career,” she harrumphs. “It’s an incident!”

    That sort of bon mot — along with huge dollops of bohemian atmosphere — were enough to make the nonmusical “Royal Family” a success …

    June 3, 2019