Definition of "coulisse" [cou•lisse]

• A grooved timber in which something slides. (noun)
• A section of stage scenery placed in a wing of a theatre. (noun)
• The space between such pieces of scenery, through which an actor can make an entrance or exit. (noun)
• A backstage area in a theater. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Thus, the break between Lumumba and UN secretary-general Hammarskjöld also plays a crucial role in the fall of the Congolese prime minister, on the one hand because it incites Lumumba to seek (openly) the support of the Soviet Union and, on the other, because it incites the United States to organize (behind the scenes) [en coulisse] active opposition to Lumumba (including the elaboration of the first plans for physical elimination)."
• "See trawl board anneau do coulisse du type ouvrant anillas que se pueden abrir otter trawl chalut panneaux arte de arrastre de puertas outrigger tangon tangn, botaln overhand knot noeud simple nudo llano"
• "A few days later the July liquidation, in the official market as well as in the coulisse, was postponed until the end of August, which action proved the necessity of a period of grace."