Meanings
nounmot d'ordre (plural mots d'ordre)
plural mots d'ordre
- A watchword or slogan; a statement of policy, a plan.First known use 19th c.
With the outbreak of full-scale war, the army received strict instructions to avoid set-piece battles with the French […]. Guerrilla warfare was the mot d'ordre.
2016, Christopher Goscha, The Penguin History of Modern Vietnam, Penguin, published 2017, page 238
Origin
- Frenchmot d'ordre
- Englishmot d'ordre
Borrowed from French mot d'ordre.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
mot d'ordre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mot%20d'ordre
MLA
“mot d'ordre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mot%20d'ordre. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mot d'ordre,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mot%20d'ordre.
Source: mot d'ordre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.