Definition of coup d'etat Coup d'etat

We found 4 definitions of coup d'etat from 3 different sources.

What does coup d'etat mean?

Noun
coup d'etat - a sudden and decisive change of government illegally or by force
		coup, putsch, takeover
		group action action taken by a group of people
		countercoup a sudden and decisive overthrow of a government that gained power by a coup d'etat

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coup d'etat
The sudden overthrow of a government.
coup d'etat
Sudden overthrow of a government, often through illegal means by a part of the state establishment — mostly replacing just the high-level figures.

A coup d'état (pronounced), or just coup () for short, is the removal of a head of state from power (overthrow). Unlike a revolution, which usually takes large numbers of people to take over, a coup can be done by a small number of people. Even one person can cause a coup if they, for example, control the country's army. Coups can also be done by other countries, such as the 1953 Iranian coup d'etat. One well-known coup was the Beer Hall Putsch, where Adolf Hitler tried to take over the government of the state of Bavaria in Germany.

The term comes from French for "a (sudden) blow (or strike) to a state".

Informally, "coup" is sometimes used to refer to takeovers, or wins, in places other than government, such as inside a corporation.