Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Exactly the right word or expression.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The perfectly appropriate word or phrase for the situation.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the appropriate word or expression
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[French : mot, word + juste, right.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From French
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Examples
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whichbe commented on the word mot juste
Exactly the right word or expression. (from WordCraft)
May 20, 2008
bilby commented on the word mot juste
"'My west window,' says the ancient Canon D'Ascoyne, showing a visitor around his ancient church, 'has all of the...' he searches for the mot juste, 'exuberance of Chaucer, without any of the... concomitant crudities.'"
-- Vincent Canby, 'Sir Alec: Amid the Laurels, Very Hardy', New York Times, 25 April 1983.
November 6, 2008