french
Verbfrenches, frenching, frenched
Formsfrenches, frenching, frenched
- 1The language people speak in France, and also in some nearby countries and places France once ruled.
My friend from Montreal speaks French and English.
Can you read this letter? It is written in French.
Note
- 2From France, or connected with the country of France.
We drove along the French coast for three days.
The French flag is blue, white, and red.
- 3Connected with the people of France and the way they live.
She loves French food, especially the bread and cheese.
Our French neighbors invited us to a long Sunday lunch.
- 4The people of France, thought of together as one group.
The French celebrate their national day on July 14.
Our guide told us how the French built the old fort on the hill.
Note
- 5Having to do with the language people speak in France.
French grammar is hard for me, especially the verbs.
I learned ten new French words for food today.
- 6How well someone can speak and understand French.
My French is still not very good.
After a year in Paris, his French got much better.
Note
- 7The French language and its books and writers, studied as a subject, for example at school.
We have French right after lunch on Tuesdays.
He got an A in French this year.
- 8A polite or joking word for swearing and rude words.
Pardon my French. I said some bad words when I dropped the cake.
Excuse my French, but that guy is a real jerk.
Note
- 9To kiss someone, putting your tongue into their mouth.
He was too shy to french his girlfriend in front of her parents.
Everyone gasped when he frenched her right there in the hallway.
Note
- 10To get food ready by cutting it into long, thin pieces.
Dad showed me how to french the beans for dinner.
She frenched the carrots and put them in the pan.
Similarjulienne
Note
- 11To cut the fat and meat off a bone so the clean bone shows and looks nice.
Dad watched a video to learn how to french a rack of lamb.
The restaurant serves its pork chops frenched, with a clean bone sticking out.
Note
- 12Used in the names of things made or done in an unusual or fancy way.
She wore her hair in a French braid for the school dance.
The art teacher gave us a French curve to draw smooth lines.
- 13A person from France, a use heard mostly from people still learning English.
"I am a French," Pierre told the class on his first day.
"There are three Frenches in my English class," Ana said.
Note
- 14Used in some polite-sounding names for diseases that people catch through sex.
Many sailors long ago got sick with the French pox.
The doctor told the soldier that he had the French disease.
Note
- 15Having to do with sex that uses the mouth.
She was a tall redhead, with a shape that would make you jump for joy and a reputation as the best French girl in the place.
1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard WolfeHere, French means having to do with oral sex.Note
- 16Sex that uses the mouth, especially on a man.
The nurse reminded the sex workers to use condoms for French too.
‘French’—still used by prostitutes as a term for oral sex.
1996, ObserverHere, French means oral sex.Note
- 17Short for French vermouth. People used it when ordering drinks, as in gin and French.
He ordered a gin and French at the bar.
He was drinking double gins with single Frenches in them.
1967, Michael Francis Gilbert, The Dust & the HeatHere, Frenches means servings of dry French vermouth.Note
- 18A last name that first meant a person from France.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of french apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
From an Old English word meaning "Frankish" or "French", made from Frank + -ish.
From the word French, as in French cooking and French kissing.