coup de main
/ku də meɪn/
"coup-de-main" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“coup de main” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A sudden development or action carried out to surprise an enemy.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | coup de main |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ku də meɪn/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “coup de main” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
coup de main is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ku də meɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A sudden development or action carried out to surprise an enemy.".
coup de main doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French coup de main. The correct English form is coup de main, spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -M-A-I-N.
Definition
- 1A sudden development or action carried out to surprise an enemy.
Etymology
Borrowed from French coup de main.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “coup de main”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-U-P- -D-E- -M-A-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ku də meɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.