coup de poing

\ku də pwɛ̃\

/\ku də pwɛ̃\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“coup de poing” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Coup donné avec le poing fermé.

Key facts for coup de poing
PropertyValue
Headwordcoup de poing
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ku də pwɛ̃\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “coup de poing” sits in French frequency

coup de poing falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

coup de poing is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ku də pwɛ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for coup de poing in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is coup de poing, spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -P-O-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Coup donné avec le poing fermé.
  2. 2
    Gros bouton-poussoir, généralement rouge, actionnable à l’aide du poing enclenchant des procédures d’urgence (mise hors tension, alarme, etc.) ou pouvant être dangereuse, nécessitant une extrême vigilance (actionnement d’un monte-charge, d’une porte blindée, etc.).
  3. 3
    Outil et arme préhistorique constitué d’un nucléus de pierre taillée en ogive.
  4. 4
    Petit pistolet de poche à un coup de la fin du XIXᵉ siècle.
  5. 5
    Arme de choc métallique composée d’anneaux rendant plus efficace les coups donnés grâce aux poings. Souvent qualifié d'"américain".

Synonyms

beignebugnechâtaigneemplâtregnongourmademarronpainparpinochepatatepêcheramponeautsukibifacepétardgifle

This word in other languages

punch(English)puñetazo(Español)Faustschlag(Deutsch)murro(Português)

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

How do you spell "coup de poing"?
"coup de poing" is spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -P-O-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is \ku də pwɛ̃\.
What does "coup de poing" mean?
As a noun, "coup de poing" means: Coup donné avec le poing fermé.
How do you pronounce "coup de poing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coup de poing" is \ku də pwɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "coup de poing" come from?
"coup de poing" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “coup de poing”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-U-P- -D-E- -P-O-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ku də pwɛ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list