act of God

1. (legal) An unforeseen occurrence beyond one's control, such as a natural disaster.
2. Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see act, of, God

• force majeure

• French: force majeure
• German: höhere Gewalt
• Portuguese: caso fortuito, força maior
• Russian: стихи́йное бе́дствие
• Spanish: fuerza mayor, caso fortuito, cosa de Dios

act of God

1. (legal, usually, "an") Alternative spelling of act of God
   • Heavy rainfall is not the kind of exceptional phenomenon to which the Act of God exception applies.
   • In road and rail traffic liability is excluded for accidents which are due to circumstances amounting to an Act of God.
   • One handy tool for defense strategies is the Act of God defense which functions to locate the crucial moment in the cascade of troubles in the realm of nature, beyond the defendant's control.
   • 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XVI, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, OCLC 1227855 ↗:

     “Pardon me,” I said, preserving with an effort the polished suavity demanded from an English gentleman when chewing the rag with one of the other sex, “you're talking through the back of your fatheaded little neck. I did not trip over my flat feet. I was hurled into the depths by an Act of God, to wit, a totally unexpected dachshund getting between my legs.”