French–English dictionary

ball-trap

(uncountable) A form of trapshooting using clay targets to simulate birds in flight.

ballade

A pleasure trip; a journey made for feasting or enjoyment, now especially a trip made ostensibly for business but which entails merrymaking or entertainment.

ballast

Coarse gravel or similar material laid to form a bed for roads or railroads, or in making concrete; track ballast.

ballaster

(transitive) To stabilize or load a ship with ballast.

balle

A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation.

balle à blanc

(firearms) Ellipsis of blank cartridge [since the 19th century].

balle aux prisonniers

A team sport whose main objective is to dodge or catch balls thrown by the opposition.

balle courbe

(baseball) A forespin pitch thrown by rotating the index and middle fingers down and resulting in motion down "curve"

balle de baseball

The ball used to play the sport of baseball.

balle de handball américain

(uncountable, US, Ireland) A sport in which players alternately strike the ball against a wall with their hand. Irish and American variants have slightly different rules.

balle de neige

A ball of snow, usually one made in the hand and thrown for amusement in a snowball fight; also a larger ball of snow made by rolling a snowball around in snow that sticks to it and increases its diameter.

balle de volley

(uncountable) A game played on a rectangular court between two teams of two to six players which involves striking a ball back and forth over a net.

balle de volley-ball

(uncountable) A game played on a rectangular court between two teams of two to six players which involves striking a ball back and forth over a net.

balle rapide

(baseball) A fastball.

balle-molle

(sports) A game similar to baseball but played with a larger and softer ball which can be thrown overhand or underhand.

balle-papillon

(baseball) A pitch thrown with the ball gripped on the fingertips and released with no rotation, which travels over an unpredictable path to the plate due to micro-turbulence in the air.

balles

(sports) A game that ends with the losing side being held scoreless.

balles à blanc

(military) Of ammunition: having propellant but no bullets; unbulleted.

balloches

(uncountable, vulgar, colloquial) Masculinity, particularly strength, courage, and force of will; chutzpah; brazenness.

ballon

A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.

ballon de baudruche

Such an object as a child’s toy or party decoration.

ballon de foot

(countable) The ball used in any game called "football".

ballon de handball

(uncountable) A team sport where two teams of seven players each (six players and a goalkeeper) pass and bounce a ball trying to throw it in the goal of the opposing team.

ballon dirigeable

(aviation) An airship constructed with a non-rigid lifting agent container.

ballon en baudruche

Such an object as a child’s toy or party decoration.

ballon gonflable

Such an object as a child’s toy or party decoration.

ballon-chasseur

A team sport whose main objective is to dodge or catch balls thrown by the opposition.

ballon-panier

(countable) The particular kind of ball used in the sport of basketball.

ballot

A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation.

ballottage

(politics) A second or further round of an indecisive election, after other candidates (often all but the last two) have been eliminated.

ballottement

A motion or action that sloshes.

ballotter

(intransitive) To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water, or similar medium.

balluchon

(Canada, US, , slang) Any bundle or package; specifically one containing narcotics such as cocaine, heroin, or morphine.

balourd

(pejorative, slang) A stupid person.

baluchon

(Australia, ambitransitive) To travel on foot carrying a swag (possessions tied in a blanket). [From 1850s.]

balustrade

A row of balusters topped by a rail, serving as an open parapet, as along the edge of a balcony, terrace, bridge, staircase, or the eaves of a building.

balustre

(architecture) A short column used in a group to support a rail, as commonly found on the side of a stairway or around a balcony; a banister.

Balzac

A surname from French.

bambin

(informal) A child, adolescent, or (loosely) a young adult.

bambine

A young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it, typically between one and three years old.

bambou

Made of the wood of the bamboo.

bamboula

(slang, dated, offensive, ethnic slur) A black person.

banal

Ordinary; not having any remarkable characteristics.

banalité

(medicine, now, _, rare, historical) A fever which recurs every day; quotidian malaria. [from 14th c.]

banane

The tropical tree-like plant which bears clusters of bananas, a plant of the genus Musa (but sometimes also including plants from Ensete), which has large, elongated leaves. [from 1697]

banane à cuire

The fruit of the plant, usually cooked before eating and used like potatoes.

banane cochon

The fruit of the plant, usually cooked before eating and used like potatoes.

banane farine

The fruit of the plant, usually cooked before eating and used like potatoes.

banane plantain

The fruit of the plant, usually cooked before eating and used like potatoes.

bananier

The tropical tree-like plant which bears clusters of bananas, a plant of the genus Musa (but sometimes also including plants from Ensete), which has large, elongated leaves. [from 1697]

banc

(nautical, hydrology) An elevation under the sea; a shallow area of shifting sand, gravel, mud, and so forth

banc d'essai

(computing) A computer program that is executed to assess the performance of the runtime environment.

banc d’église

Any structure shaped like a church pew, such as a stall, formerly used by money lenders, etc.; a box in a theatre; or a pen or sheepfold.

banc d’œuvre

An enclosed compartment in a church which provides seating for a group of people, often a prominent family.

banc de fidèle

Any structure shaped like a church pew, such as a stall, formerly used by money lenders, etc.; a box in a theatre; or a pen or sheepfold.

banc de l’œuvre

An enclosed compartment in a church which provides seating for a group of people, often a prominent family.

banc de musculation

A horizontal padded surface, usually adjustable in height and inclination and often with attached weight rack, used for proper posture during exercise.

banc de touche

(military) A pit dug into the ground as a shelter, especially from enemy fire.

banc des accusés

(law) Part of a courtroom where the accused sits.

bancal

(colloquial) Unconvincing or unbelievable.

bancomat

(banking) Initialism of automated teller machine or automatic teller machine.

bandage

A strip of gauze or similar material used to protect or support a wound or injury.

bandage herniaire

A bandage and belt used to hold a hernia in place.

bandaison

(uncountable, physiology, of a penis or clitoris) The state or quality of being erect from engorgement with blood.

bande

A group of musicians who perform together as an ensemble; sometimes, such a group working for a professional recording artist.

bande de

Used before epithets, describing the person being addressed, for emphasis.

bande de roulement

The grooves carved into the face of a tire, used to give the tire traction. [from 1900s]

bande dessinée

(comics) A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings.

bande originale de film

A recording of such music for sale.

bande passante

(of a signal) The width of the smallest frequency band within which the signal can fit.

bande son

A narrow strip running down a movie film that carries the recorded sound in synchronization with the pictures.

bande vidéo

A relatively wide magnetic tape used for recording visual images and sounds (as of a television production) for subsequent playback or broadcasting.

bande-annonce

(marketing) A preview or part of a product released in preparation of its main advertising, typically a short film, song, or quote.

bandeau

(sometimes, figurative) Anything that obscures the vision.

bander

(transitive) To move part of the body using one's muscles.

bander les yeux

To cover the eyes, in order to make someone unable to see.

banderole

Strips of material used as festive decoration, especially in the colours of the national flag.

bandit

(Britain, US, idiomatic) Someone whose behaviour is reprehensible or irresponsible; a rogue.

bandit de grand chemin

(historical) A person, usually mounted on horseback, who robbed travelers on public roads.

bandite

One who robs others in a lawless area, especially as part of a group.

banditisme

Acts characteristic of a bandit; armed robbery.

bandonéon

A small Latin American accordion played with buttons which is frequently used in tango ensembles.

bandoulière

An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.

bandy

(sports, uncountable) A winter sport played on ice, from which ice hockey developed.

bang

A vessel, usually made of glass or ceramic and filled with water, used in smoking various substances, especially cannabis.

Bangkok

(exonym) The capital city of Thailand.

Bangladesh

A country in South Asia. Official name: People's Republic of Bangladesh. Capital: Dhaka.

banian

An Indian trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer.

banière

(heraldry) The principal standard of a knight.

banjo

A stringed musical instrument (chordophone), usually with a round body, a membrane-like soundboard and a fretted neck, played by plucking or strumming the strings.

banlieue

A more remote part of a town or city; the periphery, environs; a suburb.

banlieusard

Relating to or characteristic of or situated on the outskirts of a city; of or relating to suburbia or the suburbs.

banni

The state of being banished, exile.

bannir

(transitive) To prohibit; to interdict; to proscribe; to forbid or block from participation.

bannissement

The act of banishing.

banque

(nautical, hydrology) An elevation under the sea; a shallow area of shifting sand, gravel, mud, and so forth

banque de données

(general) A collection of (usually) organized information in a regular structure, usually but not necessarily in a machine-readable format accessible by a computer.

banqueroute

(finance, law) A legally declared or recognized condition of insolvency of a person or organization.

banquet

A large celebratory meal; a feast.

banqueter

(intransitive, dated) To attend a junket; to feast.

banquier

One who conducts the business of banking; one who, individually, or as a member of a company, keeps an establishment for the deposit or loan of money, or for traffic in money, bills of exchange, etc.

banquière

One who conducts the business of banking; one who, individually, or as a member of a company, keeps an establishment for the deposit or loan of money, or for traffic in money, bills of exchange, etc.

bans

The announcement of a forthcoming marriage (legally required for a church wedding in England and Wales and read on the three Sundays preceding the marriage).

banshee

(Scotland, Ireland, , folklore) A female spirit, usually taking the form of a woman whose mournful wailing warns of an impending death.

banshie

(Scotland, Ireland, , folklore) A female spirit, usually taking the form of a woman whose mournful wailing warns of an impending death.

banzaï

A cry or cheer of enthusiasm, or to celebrate victory.

baptême

(Christianity) A Christian sacrament, by which one is received into a church and sometimes given a name, generally involving the candidate to be anointed with or submerged in water.

baptisateur

A person who baptizes.

baptisatrice

A person who baptizes.

baptiser

(archaic, slang) Of rum, brandy, or any other spirits, to dilute with water.

baptiseur

A person who baptizes.

baptiseuse

A person who baptizes.

baptiste

Of, relating to, or adhering to the Baptist religious denomination.

baquet

A flat-bottomed vessel, of width similar to or greater than its height, used for storing or packing things, or for washing things in.

bar

A non-SI unit of pressure equal to 100,000 pascals, slightly less than atmospheric pressure at sea level.

baraban

(countable) Any of the several species of plant in the genus Taraxacum, characterised by yellow flower heads and notched, broad-ended leaves, especially the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).

baragouin

Speech or writing that is unintelligible, incoherent or meaningless.

baragouiner

To utter sounds which somewhat resemble language, but are inarticulate and indistinct.

baraki

(slang, US, usually, pejorative, offensive, ethnic slur) A poor, rural, usually white, person from the Southern United States or parts of the Midwest and Northeast, especially one whose beliefs are seen as unsophisticated and backward; sometimes with additional connotations of being bigoted.

baraqué

(of a person) Possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful; powerfully or heavily built.

baratin

(informal, pejorative) A style of language, used by bureaucrats, that involves jargon or euphemism to the detriment of broader understanding.

baratiner

(informal, intransitive) To lie, especially more or less inconsequentially.

baratineur

(informal) A smooth talker, a persuasive person.

baratte

A vessel used for churning, especially for producing butter.

baratter

(transitive) To agitate rapidly and repetitively, or to stir with a rowing or rocking motion; generally applies to liquids, notably cream.

barbacou à croupion blanc

A swallow-winged puffbird (Chelidoptera tenebrosa)

Barbade

An island and country in the Caribbean.

barbant

Causing boredom or tiredness; making one feel tired and impatient.

Barbara

A en given name.

barbare

Relating to people, countries, or customs perceived as uncivilized or inferior.

barbarie

(uncountable) The state of being barbarous; brutality

Barbe

A en given name.

barbe de trois jours

A fashionable short growth of male facial hair.

Barbe Noire

The archetypal pirate, who lived in the 17th and 18th centuries.

barbecue

A fireplace or pit for grilling food, typically used outdoors and traditionally employing hot charcoal as the heating medium.

barber

(transitive) To inspire boredom in somebody.

barbeuc

A meal or event highlighted by food cooked in such an apparatus.

barbiche

A beard trimmed to grow only at the center of the chin.

barbichette

A beard trimmed to grow only at the center of the chin.

Barbichu

The fictional dwarf who is the title character of that story.

Barbie

A tall, slender female fashion doll.

barbier

A person whose profession is cutting the hair and beards of usually male customers.

barbon

A dull person (especially an old man) who is behind the times, holding antiquated, over-conservative views.

barboter

(transitive) To cause splashing by moving a body part like a bill or limb in soft mud, water, etc., often playfully; to play in shallow water; to paddle.

barbotine

(ceramics) A thin, slippery mix of clay and water.

barbouiller

(intransitive, transitive) To apply (something) to a surface in hasty or crude strokes.

barbouze

(espionage, slang) An undercover agent, spy, or intelligence analyst.

barbu

Having a beard; involving a beard.

barbue

A type of flatfish, Scophthalmus rhombus.

barbure

(uncountable) The flaky material sloughed off heated metal.