french

IPA/frentʃ/

KK[frˈɛntʃ]IPA/frentʃ/

frenchpositive
frenchercomparative
frenchestsuperlative

1.adjectiveA1

Definition

relating to the European country of France: the people who live there, the language they speak, or the things that come from there

Example

Élise loves French bread and buys it fresh every morning.

French + noun (bread, wine, cheese etc.)

Lara's French aunt lives in a small town near Lyon.

French + family-related noun

Common collocations

French bread
French wine
French language
French people
French cuisine
French kiss

Grammar Patterns

French + noun

be + French

Common Mistakes

I am study French language.

I am studying the French language.

'French' as an adjective needs a noun, or use 'the French language'.

She is a France person.

She is a French person.

'France' is the country name; 'French' is the adjective form.

Idioms

Daniel Chester French

idiom

[biographical name] Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) was an American sculptor. He is best known for creating the large marble statue of Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The sculptor Daniel Chester French spent twenty years working on the Lincoln Memorial statue.

take French leave

idiom

To leave a place or duty without telling anyone or getting permission.

Maya took French leave from the office and went to the beach.

Did Diego take French leave again when the boss was away?

1.nounA1

Definition

the language spoken in France and also in parts of Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, and many other countries around the world

Example

Jude has been learning French for three years at school.

learning + French

Trang wrote the letter in French because her pen pal lives in Paris.

in French

Common collocations

speak French
learn French
in French
French speaker
French class

Grammar Patterns

speak/learn/read/write + French

in French

French is + adjective

Usage Note

When referring to the language, 'French' is uncountable and is not preceded by 'the' unless followed by the word 'language' (e.g., 'the French language').

Common Mistakes

She speaks the French well.

She speaks French well.

Do not use 'the' before a language name.

I am learning France.

I am learning French.

'France' is the country; 'French' is the language.

2.nounA2

Definition

the people who come from France, considered together as a group

Example

The French are known for their love of good food and wine.

the French + are + adjective/known for

Rachid noticed that the French often greet each other with a kiss on both cheeks.

Common collocations

the French people
the French government
among the French

Grammar Patterns

the French

the French + plural verb

Usage Note

Always use 'the' before 'French' when referring to the people as a group. The verb that follows is always plural. To refer to one person, say 'a French person' or 'a Frenchman'/'a Frenchwoman'.

Common Mistakes

French are friendly.

The French are friendly.

'The' is required when referring to the people as a group.

A French is my neighbour.

A French person is my neighbour.

Use 'a French person' for one individual.

frenchpresent simple I / you / we / they
frenches3rd person singular
frenching-ing form
frenchedpast simple

1.verbtransitiveC1

Definition

to cut away the meat and fat from the end of a bone-in cut of meat, such as a chop or rib, so that part of the bone is clean and visible for a neat presentation on a plate

Example

Zola watched the chef french the lamb rack before roasting it in the oven.

french + specific meat cut (lamb rack, chop)

The pork chops were frenched and tied with string for an elegant dinner.

passive: were frenched

Common collocations

frenched rack of lamb
frenched chop
frenched rib

Synonyms

trim
a more general term for cutting away extra parts; 'french' is a specific trimming technique for bone-in meat
clean (the bone)
describes the result of frenched meat, but less technical

Grammar Patterns

french + bone-in meat (e.g., rack of lamb, chop)

Usage Note

This sense is used almost exclusively in professional cooking contexts. The past participle 'frenched' is more common than the base form. Not to be confused with the verb 'French' meaning to kiss.

Common Mistakes

I frenched my hair before the party.

I frenched the lamb chops before roasting them.

'French' as a cooking term only applies to trimming meat on the bone.

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2

Definition

to kiss someone with your mouths open and touching each other's tongue, as a way of showing romantic or sexual attraction

Example

Trang and Noa were caught frenching behind the gym at the school dance.

frenching (continuous/present participle form)

Lara had never frenched anyone before her date with Daniel last weekend.

Common collocations

French kiss
french someone
frenching in public

Synonyms

French kiss
the more common noun/verb phrase for this action
make out
broader in meaning; can include French kissing but also other forms of kissing and touching

Grammar Patterns

french + someone

french with + someone

Usage Note

The full phrase 'French kiss' is more common than using 'french' alone as a verb. This verb is informal and considered somewhat old-fashioned by younger speakers, who more often say 'make out'.

Word family

Frenchness
nounC1
Francophone
adjectiveB2
Frenchify
verbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

French is the standard, everyday adjective for anything connected to France — its people, culture, language, or products. Gallic is a more formal and literary term derived from the ancient Gauls (Latin: Galli). It appears mostly in historical writing or stylised journalism, as in 'Gallic pride' or 'Gallic shrug', and would sound odd describing everyday objects ('Gallic bread' instead of 'French bread'). Francophone specifically refers to French-speaking people or regions, such as 'Francophone Africa' or 'the Francophone world'. It is never used for physical objects or places — you would not say 'Francophone wine' or 'a Francophone landscape'. Choose French for general use, Gallic for literary or historical flavour, and Francophone only when language rather than nationality is the focus.

French ↗Gallic ↗Francophone

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

very French
typically French
decidedly French

Phrases

the French way
French-style

Prepositions

from France
in French

Etymology

Old EnglishGermanic (Frankish)Latin (Francia)English

The word 'French' comes from Old English 'Frencisc', meaning 'of the Franks'. The Franks were a Germanic tribe that conquered Roman Gaul in the 5th century and gave France its name. 'Frencisc' is formed from 'Franca' (a Frank) plus the suffix '-isc' (meaning 'belonging to'). Over time, the word shifted from referring specifically to the Frankish people to describing the language, culture, and country that developed from their kingdom.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Noun

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french

french — adjective

1. relating to the European country of France: the people who live there, the langu

Grammar Patterns

Common Mistakes

Daniel Chester French

take French leave

french — noun

1. the language spoken in France and also in parts of Belgium, Switzerland, Canada,

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. the people who come from France, considered together as a group

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

french — verb

1. to cut away the meat and fat from the end of a bone-in cut of meat, such as a ch

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. to kiss someone with your mouths open and touching each other's tongue, as a way

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Word family

Synonym discussion

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

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