coups de main

noun

plural of coup de main
as in attacks
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence the Continental Army's attack on the British-Hessian encampment at Trenton, New Jersey, ranks as one of the most brilliant coups de main of the war

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for coups de main
  1. attacks
  2. assaults
  3. raids
  4. offensives
  5. offenses
  6. onslaughts
  7. strikes
  8. attempts
Noun
  • In his statement, Dan also blamed Russia for a spate of attacks in recent weeks on civilian maritime transport in the Black Sea, which has left at least three people dead and has raised fears of an escalation in Russia's war against Ukraine.
    — STEPHEN McGRATH, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The bomber could potentially conduct electronic attacks alongside its existing weapons operations, reducing its dependence on specialized escort aircraft in certain scenarios.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacks
Noun
  • The cases include five inmates killed behind bars and assaults against staff and inmates.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Following its release, six women independently went to police and accused him of past assaults.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of assaults
Noun
  • Five dolphins died in less than eight months, sparking public outrage, raids by law enforcement and a criminal investigation.
    — Valerie Greene, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Faheem Akram, 33, was arrested after a weekslong search involving raids across several parts of the country, a senior official at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, Atif Ameer, told reporters.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of raids
Noun
  • Ukraine can conduct localized offensives but not enough to shift the broader battlefield balance, despite mounting Russian losses.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Only small offensives are possible Ukraine can conduct localized offensives but not enough to shift the broader battlefield balance, despite mounting Russian losses.
    — Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of offensives
Noun
  • Having a consistent place to live is one of the most critical factors in breaking this cycle, reducing repeat offenses, and improving public safety – not to mention saving our communities money.
    — Lake County News-Sun, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • What makes their offenses tick doesn’t always show up in the box score.
    — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of offenses
Noun
  • In fact, reported evidence suggests this software commitment (from a company making its revenue from hardware) has been crucial to Nvidia’s success in fending off onslaughts from other hardware vendors such as Intel.
    — Nisha Talagala, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Ukraine has been largely helpless in similar Russian onslaughts in recent weeks.
    — Tom Bowman, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of onslaughts
Noun
  • Experts said some of the tension – particularly on issues related to diesel, with Trump blaming Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries for soaring prices rather than the Iran war – may dissipate after the US midterms.
    — Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • DeShields was 18-of-33 passing for 294 yards and threw scoring strikes of 1, 55 and 19 yards to Harris.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of strikes
Noun
  • Assassination attempts against Putin's foes -- routinely denied by the Kremlin -- have been common during his decades in power.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Horned Frogs averaged more rushing attempts than passing attempts while going 13-2.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of attempts
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

coups de grâce
coups de main
courage
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Coups de main.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coups%20de%20main. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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