A coup (pronounced “koo”) is the sudden, often violent overthrow of a government by a small group, usually involving military force. The word is short for coup d'état, a French phrase meaning “blow to the state.”

In a coup, a group of military officers or political insiders seizes control of the government in a matter of hours or days, rather than through elections or legal processes. They might surround the presidential palace with tanks, take over television stations to broadcast their declarations, or arrest the existing leaders. Unlike a revolution, which typically involves masses of ordinary citizens rising up over time, a coup is swift and involves relatively few people in positions of power.

History is full of coups, particularly in countries where democratic institutions are weak. A famous example is the military coup in Chile in 1973, when General Augusto Pinochet overthrew President Salvador Allende. In modern times, coups have toppled governments across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

The word also appears in phrases like coup de grâce (a final, decisive blow) or just coup meaning a brilliant, surprising success, as in “Getting the lead role in the school play was quite a coup for the seventh-grader.”