Meanings
comparative more au courant · superlative most au courant
- Up to date; informed about the latest developments; abreast.
As Hemingway once noted, Paris is an old city—and so even a 1946 film looks au courant: part of the aesthetic air.
2013 October 23, Meghan O’Rourke, “Watching American Movies in Paris”, in The Atlantic4 more examples
Doctor Portman and Smirke were both cautious of informing the widow of the constant outbreak of calumny which was pursuing poor Pen, though Glanders, who was a friend of the house, kept him au courant.
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, The History of Pendennis. […], volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849, →OCLC, page 135Its hipness recalls the films of Jean-Jacques Beineix and Leos Carax, making for an intoxicating blend of the retro and au courant.
2018 May 2, Catherine Taylor, “Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes review – foul-mouthed satire of modern France”, in The Guardian, →ISSNA paragon from the Global South, as no one I know who lives there calls it, would be very 21st century, very au courant.
2023 February 11, Janan Ganesh, “After Germany’s fall, which is the paragon nation?”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 22“Know Your Enemy,” an au courant lefty podcast, has devoted multiple episodes to discussions of Freud, who has become a frequent topic of conversation among the show’s hosts.
2023 March 22, Joseph Bernstein, “Not Your Daddy’s Freud”, in The New York Times, →ISSNSynonyms: au parfum
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveUp to date; informed about the latest developments; abreast.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivebeing up to particular standard or level especially in being up to date in knowledge
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchau courant
- Englishau courant
Borrowed from French au courant (literally “to the current”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
au courant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/au%20courant
“au courant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/au%20courant. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “au courant,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/au%20courant.
Source: au courant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.