The expression coup de grâce (sometimes coup de grace) means "blow of mercy" in French, and is used to describe the death blow intended to end the suffering of a mortally wounded creature. It is used figuratively to describe the last of a series of events or acts which brings about the end of some entity; for example:

The business had been ailing for years; the coup de grâce which brought it to its knees was the sudden jump in oil prices.

The French pronunciation of Coup de grâce is . The plural is coups de grâce ("blows of mercy"), pronounced the same as the singular form. In English it is often pronounced . Not pronouncing the final is an example of a type of hypercorrection known as a hyperforeignism: in French, (coups de gras) means "blow of fat."

See also

• Animal euthanasia
• Euthanasia

French phrases

Fangschuss