oeuvre
Americannoun
plural
oeuvres-
the works of a writer, painter, or the like, taken as a whole.
-
any one of the works of a writer, painter, or the like.
noun
-
a work of art, literature, music, etc
-
the total output of a writer, painter, etc
Usage
What does oeuvre mean? An artist’s oeuvre is their total body of work.Oeuvre can also refer to a single work of art, but it most commonly refers to the collective work of an artist over a lifetime.Oeuvre is a formal word most commonly used in the discussion of artists like painters, composers, and literary figures. Because it’s a French loanword and it’s a kind of hard to pronounce, oeuvre is sometimes considered a bit pretentious.Example: Common throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s oeuvre is the theme of indulgence, most evident in his standout novel The Great Gatsby.
Etymology
Origin of oeuvre
ultimately from Latin opera, plural of opus work
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The combination of the Welshman’s grim poetics and the singer’s apocalyptic incantations gets the set off to a powerful start and signals something entirely new for the Charli XCX oeuvre.
“I am aware that these art historical categories exist in my oeuvre, but I’m not seeking them out,” Tillmans explained after the walk-through.
From Los Angeles Times
The song holds next to none of the grinding desire throbbing through most of The Artist’s oeuvre.
From Salon
Herself a lauded novelist, Serpell examines Toni Morrison’s oeuvre with the rigor of an academic and the admiration of a fellow creative.
From Los Angeles Times
Only recently, he spent €20,000 of his own to acquire the oeuvre of a Czech composer, who died at a death camp, from his “wonderful but cash-strapped descendants.”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
