How to Use bon mot in a Sentence

bon mot

noun
  • She had a sparkling bon mot for every occasion.
  • But her encounters with the queen of the bon mot weren’t the point.
    — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022
  • Throughout, Blanchett maintained a steady stream of bon mots.
    — Anna Silman, The Cut, 22 May 2018
  • Not a real spy, of course, but the movie kind of spy, fighting with fists one moment and bon mots the next.
    — Susan Arendt, Ars Technica, 22 Nov. 2019
  • While their bon mots are unmatched, Sags must remember to keep their sharp tongues in check.
    — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, 2 Feb. 2018
  • But during the creation process, some bon mots were just too good for this world, and died nobly on the cutting room floor.
    — Dan Snierson, EW.com, 30 Jan. 2020
  • One is reminded of Balzac’s bon mot that behind every great fortune lies a great crime.
    — Brian P. Kelly, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022
  • In the meantime, enjoy several bon mots that the world’s classiest drink has inspired.
    — Patrick May, The Mercury News, 19 June 2019
  • Going a step beyond Churchill’s bon mot, this is not the beginning of the end, nor the end of the beginning.
    — Robert Graboyes, National Review, 13 Feb. 2018
  • Everything about Gordon’s career flies in the face of that Belichick bon mot.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2019
  • Depending on his place in the hierarchy, any one of the guests would be expected to rise and disgorge a brief, bon mot–studded toast.
    — TheWeek, 17 May 2020
  • Johnson has achieved a momentous political triumph through discord, populism, and a few bon mots.
    — By sam Knight, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2019
  • By then, perhaps everyone will have gotten their fill—and moved on to watching Netflix's latest binge-able bundle of bons mots.
    — Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 26 June 2019
  • Also present is the Earl’s redoubtable mother (Maggie Smith), who dispenses bons mots like sour lemon drops.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2019
  • Difficult though Garland’s circumstances are, her ability to win over an audience and deliver a bon mot is unhampered.
    — N.e.g., The Economist, 1 Oct. 2019
  • In a wheelchair since a 2012 stroke, the 79-year-old icon was still sharp as a tack — as numerous bon mots proved — with a vivid memory matched only by his dry humor.
    — Katherine Turman, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Robinson relaxes the farce into drawing-room comedy and populates it with passably clever people who have much deeper concerns than the strategic deployment of bons mots.
    — Justin Hayford, Chicago Reader, 13 Apr. 2018
  • In one conspicuous sense, though, the bon mot—or perhaps mal mot—elicited by Vinson’s death clashes with the dominant perception of Frankfurter.
    — Justin Driver, The Atlantic, 12 Aug. 2022
  • But Leon was always trying to play the role of the liberal Zionist, above certain arguments, attentive to means as well as ends, fond of the bon mot and the elegant phrase.
    — Andrew Sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, 22 June 2018
  • Stanley Tucci is back as Nigel, Miranda’s unfailingly loyal consigliere, who never butchers a bon mot or wears the same pocket square twice.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2026
  • His character, school bus driver Kevin McKay, could probably use some of McConaughey’s helpful bon mots.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Perhaps the solution is as simple as Miss Manners issuing a polite, but stern, PSA or a witty bon mot discouraging this practice.
    — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Announcer Marc Malkin then read a line that didn’t exactly recall Bruce Vilanch scripting Billy Crystal’s bon mots at the Oscars.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 11 Jan. 2026
  • Rather than the stiff alien chitchat that dots his own screenplays, the characters in The Favourite trade the witty, venomous bon mots of The Great creator Tony McNamara.
    — A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
  • There's always another bon mot, and the occasional dud humor in Jerry Before Seinfeld in no way detracts from the larger pleasures of watching this peerless comedian pay tribute to his roots.
    — Keith Uhlich, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Sep. 2017
  • McKellen lands every snippy bon mot and backhanded compliment that Julian doles out, but Coel makes every crack in Lori’s facade really count, as the mystery behind her commitment to Julian unfurls.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The affable Democrat from Kentucky will hold court with gaggles of reporters during votes, frequently offering several minutes of extended analysis of the state of play for the Democratic agenda, peppered with the occasional bon mot.
    — Grace Segers, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2021
  • Early in the movie during a survey of a starry event Miranda is attending, stylist Law Roach and Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg are seen tossing bon mots at fellow fabulous guests.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bon mot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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