A coup d'état (English: /ˌkuːdeɪˈtɑː/, French: [ku deta]; plural: coups d'état)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either civil or military. A coup d'état succeeds if the usurpers establish their dominance when the incumbent government fails to prevent or successfully resist their consolidation of power. If the coup neither fully fails nor achieves overall success, the attempted coup d'etat is likely to lead to a civil war.

Typically, a coup d'état uses the extant government's power to assume political control of the country. In Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook, military historian Edward Luttwak says, "A coup consists of the infiltration of a small, but critical, segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder", thus, armed force (either military or paramilitary) is not a defining feature of a coup d'état.

Noun

coup m. (plural coups)

1. blow, hit, strike

• coup de bourre
• coup d'envoi
• coup d'état
• coup de fil
• coup de foudre
• coup de grâce

• coup de main
• coup monté
• coup d'œil
• coup de pied
• coup de poing
• coup de pouce

• coup de vent
• coup franc
• dans le coup
• tenir le coup
• tout à coup
• tout d'un coup

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