maître d'ouvrage
Page approvedn. m. · owner / client (no exact equivalent) · spoken: “le MOA”
Definition
Personne ou organisme pour qui l'ouvrage est construit, qui le finance et qui confie le projet au maître d'œuvre (l'architecte, en général).
The party for whom the building is built and who funds it, and who commissions the project from the designer (the maître d'œuvre). Closest English terms: owner or client.
Example sentences
Written (email, official document)
FRSuite à la réunion de ce jour, le maître d'ouvrage valide l'APS et nous demande de poursuivre avec l'APD.
ENFollowing today's meeting, the owner approves the schematic design and asks us to proceed with design development.
Spoken (standard)
FROn attend le retour du maître d'ouvrage avant de lancer le DCE.
ENWe're waiting for the owner's feedback before issuing the bid documents.
Spoken (informal)
FRJ'ai un déjeuner avec la MOA lundi à midi, ils vont encore ouvrir trois bouteilles.
ENI have a lunch with the owner's team on Monday at noon, they're going to crack open three bottles again.
Nuances and pitfalls
No exact equivalent. Owner and client do not cover the same responsibilities (brief, funding, acceptance) as in the French system. APS and DCE also have only approximate equivalents.
Register. In a professional context the term is “maître d'ouvrage”. In French offices people mostly say “le MOA” in speech (and “la MOE” for the design team). When the owner is a private client, they are often just called “le client”, informally.
Related terms
maître d'œuvreAPSDCEValidation
- French term, register, FR sentences : ✓ validated
- US/UK equivalents and EN sentences : ✓ validated
Reviewed by Raphaël B. · 2 Oct 2026
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