pièce de résistance
/piˈɛs də ɹəˈzɪs.tɑ̃s/
"piece-de-resistance" is a 17-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pièce de résistance” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 19
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A masterpiece; the most memorable accomplishment of one’s career or lifetime.
Corpus desk
Index EN-piece-de-resistance · pièce de résistance · English
pièce de résistance · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 19 letters
- VOW-8 8 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pièce de résistance |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /piˈɛs də ɹəˈzɪs.tɑ̃s/ |
| Letters | 19 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pièce de résistance” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pièce de résistance is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /piˈɛs də ɹəˈzɪs.tɑ̃s/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for pièce de résistance in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French pièce de résistance; the first use of this phrase in English appears in 1789 in Richard Cumberland's novel Arundel. The correct English form is pièce de résistance, spelled P-I-È-C-E- -D-E- -R-É-S-I-S-T-A-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1A masterpiece; the most memorable accomplishment of one’s career or lifetime.
- 2The chief dish at a dinner.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how pièce de résistance appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Our pièce de résistance was a traditional preparation of poularde de Bresse en vessie: an entire chicken, stuffed with truffles and foie, steamed inside an inflated pig’s bladder in a bath of liquor and still more truffles.
Etymology
Borrowed from French pièce de résistance; the first use of this phrase in English appears in 1789 in Richard Cumberland's novel Arundel.
This word in other languages
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.