French–English dictionary

Bavaroise

A native or inhabitant of the state of Bavaria, Germany.

bave

(countable) A weak, unsteady stream; a trickle.

baver

To let saliva drip from the mouth; to drool.

bavette

An item of clothing for people (especially babies) tied around their neck to protect their clothes from getting dirty when eating.

Bavière

A historic region, former duchy, former kingdom, and modern state of Germany; the modern state includes parts of historical Swabia and Franconia as well as historical Bavaria.

bavoir

An item of clothing for people (especially babies) tied around their neck to protect their clothes from getting dirty when eating.

bavure

A blemish or smear, especially a dark or sooty one.

bayer

(intransitive, of a cat) To open the passage to the vomeronasal organ, analogous to the flehming in other animals.

Bayonne

A city and commune in Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.

bayou

A slow-moving, often stagnant creek or river.

bazar

A fair or temporary market, often for charity.

bazooka

(by extension) Any shoulder-fired rocket grenade launcher.

bazou

(US, informal) An old or dilapidated automobile in poor operating condition.

BBC

(preceded by “the”) Initialism of w:British Broadcasting Corporation.

BD

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

BDSM

Sexual or non-sexual practices or activities involving bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism, or acts of domination and submission.

bê

(onomatopoeia) The characteristic cry of a sheep.

be-bop

(music genre) An early form of modern jazz played by small groups and featuring driving rhythms and complex, often dissonant harmonies.

Béa

A en given name.

beach cruiser

(cycling) A bicycle designed for low-speed, recreational use, usually characterized by balloon tires, upright seating, a single-speed drivetrain and expressive styling.

beagle

A small short-legged smooth-coated scenthound, often tricolored and sometimes used for hunting hares. Its friendly disposition makes it suitable as a family pet.

béant

Wide open.

béatitude

(uncountable) Supreme, utmost bliss and happiness.

Beatles

An extremely successful and influential British rock music quartet that operated primarily in the 1960s.

beatnik

A person associated with the Beat Generation of the 1950s and 1960s or its style.

Béatrice

A en given name.

beau

(informal) A form of address to a person considered to be attractive.

beau gosse

(informal, dated, or, humorous) An exceptionally good-looking and sexually attractive person, particularly a man.

beau-

A prefix used before father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, child, and so forth, to indicate that the person being identified is not a blood relative but is related through the marriage of a parent.

beau-fils

The husband of one's child.

beau-papa

(informal) A stepfather.

beau-père

One's spouse's father.

beaucoup

(informal) Very much; a great deal; to a large extent.

beaucoup trop

To an excessive degree.

beauf

An uncultured person; a vulgarian.

Beaulieu

A surname from French.

beauté

An attractive woman.

bébé

Any very young animal, especially a vertebrate; many species have specific names for their babies, such as kittens for the babies of cats, puppies for the babies of dogs, and chicks for the babies of birds. See Category:Baby animals for more.

bébête

Like or suitable for a baby or a young child; childish

bec

(zootomy) The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal.

bec à fente commandé

(aviation) A control surface that extends forwards and downwards from the leading edge of a wing, leaving a gap between it and the leading edge, in order to modify the airflow around the wing so as to allow flight at a higher angle of attack without stalling, lowering the aircraft's stall speed.

bec sucré

(idiomatic, only in singular) A liking for foods that are sweet; a weakness for sweets.

bec verseur

A tube or lip through which liquid or steam is poured or discharged.

bec-de-grue

Any plant of genus Erodium.

bécarre

(music) Neither sharp nor flat. Denoted ♮. [from 18th c.]

bécasse

A medium-small wading bird, (Scolopax rusticola)

bécasse des bois

A medium-small wading bird, (Scolopax rusticola)

bécassine

Any of various limicoline game birds of the genera Gallinago, Lymnocryptes and Coenocorypha in the family Scolopacidae, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.

bêche

A hand tool with a handle, used for moving portions of material such as earth, snow, and grain from one place to another, with some forms also used for digging. In strict usage differentiated from a spade, which is designed solely for small-scale digging and incidental tasks such as chopping of small roots.

bécher

A flat-bottomed, straight-sided, glass vessel, with a lip and often a small spout, used as a laboratory container.

Beckett

A surname.

bécot

A touch with the lips, usually to express love or affection, or as a greeting.

bécoter

To kiss briefly.

becquerel

In the International System of Units, the derived unit of radioactive activity; the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second. Symbol: Bq

becqueter

(informal, intransitive) To eat, especially to eat vigorously.

bedaine

(informal) The abdomen of a person, especially one that is enlarged.

bédé

(comics) A book or magazine that uses sequences of drawings to narrate a story or a series of stories, primarily in a serialized form, usually fiction.

bédo

(slang) A marijuana cigarette.

bedon

(informal) The belly.

Bédouin

A member of nomadic Arab tribes dwelling in the desert.

Bédouine

A member of nomadic Arab tribes dwelling in the desert.

béer

(intransitive) To open wide; to display a gap.

beffroi

(architecture) A tower or steeple typically containing bells, especially as part of a church.

bégayer

(transitive) To utter with a stammer, or with timid hesitancy.

beguel

A toroidal bread roll that is boiled before it is baked.

béguètement

The characteristic cry of a sheep or a goat.

bégueter

Of a sheep or goat, to make its characteristic cry of baas; of a human, to mimic this sound.

bégueule

A deliberately superior person; a person who demonstrates an exaggerated conformity or propriety, especially in an irritatingly arrogant or smug manner.

béguin

(informal, by extension) The human object of such infatuation or affection.

béhémot

(by extension) Any great and mighty monster.

Béhémoth

(Bible) A great and mighty beast which God shows to Job in Job 40:15–24.

beige

Having a slightly yellowish gray colour, as that of unbleached wool.

beige clair

Wheaten, of a light brown color, like that of wheat.

beigeasse

Of the color of some types of drabcloth: dull brownish yellow or dun.

beigeâtre

Of the color of some types of drabcloth: dull brownish yellow or dun.

beignet

(US) A Louisiana-style fried doughnut or fritter covered in powdered sugar.

béjaune

Suffering from delusions; having false or faulty beliefs.

bel

A measure of relative power, defined as log10(P 1/P 2), where P1 and P2 are the measured and reference power respectively.

bel-

A prefix used before father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, child, and so forth, to indicate that the person being identified is not a blood relative but is related through the marriage of a parent.

Bélarus

A country in Eastern Europe. Official name: Republic of Belarus. Capital and largest city: Minsk.

Belau

A country consisting of around 340 islands in Micronesia, in Oceania. Official name: Republic of Palau. Capital: Ngerulmud.

bêlement

(onomatopoeia) The characteristic cry or bleating of a sheep.

bêler

To make the characteristic cry of a sheep.

belette

The common weasel, little weasel, or simply weasel (Mustela nivalis), the smallest member of the weasel genus Mustela, native to Eurasia, North America, and North Africa.

belette d'Europe

A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).

belette pygmée

A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).

Belfast

The capital and largest city of Northern Ireland.

belge

Of, from, or pertaining to Belgium or the Belgian people.

Belgique

A country in Western Europe that has borders with the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. Official name: Kingdom of Belgium. Capital and largest city: Brussels.

Belgrade

The capital city of Serbia; the former capital of Yugoslavia; the former capital of Serbia and Montenegro.

Bélier

Someone with an Aries star sign.

Belize

An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras.

bellâtre

(dated) A vain man; a dandy.

belle

(informal) A form of address to a person considered to be attractive.

belle plume

One who uses words skilfully. [from late 19th c.]

belle-

A prefix used before father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, child, and so forth, to indicate that the person being identified is not a blood relative but is related through the marriage of a parent.

belle-fille

The wife of one's child.

belles-lettres

(archaic) Literature, particularly light compositions valued for their aesthetic properties.

bellicisme

An inclination to war; warlike policy or behaviour.

belligérance

The state of being belligerent; aggressive inclination to war. [1804]

belligérant

Engaged in warfare, warring.

bellique

Of or pertaining to war.

belliqueux

Given to struggling with others out of jealousy or discord.

belluaire

(Ancient Rome) A person (professional or slave) who entertained the public by engaging in mortal combat with another, or with a wild animal.

bélouga

A cetacean, Delphinapterus leucas, found in the Arctic Ocean.

béluga

A cetacean, Delphinapterus leucas, found in the Arctic Ocean.

belveder

(architecture) A turret or other raised structure offering a pleasant view of the surrounding area.

belvédère

(architecture) A turret or other raised structure offering a pleasant view of the surrounding area.

Belzébuth

(Christianity) Satan, the Devil.

bémol

(music, obsolete) The flat symbol (♭), or a flattened note.

ben

To the (explicitly stated) extent.

bénédicité

(countable) A short prayer of thanks before or after a meal.

bénédiction

Endorsement; approval; acceptance; acquiescence.

bénéfice

An advantage; help or aid from something.

bénéficial

Relating to a benefice.

bénéficier

(transitive) To have the use or benefit of something.

bénéfique

Helpful or good to something or someone.

Benelux

An economic and customs union made up of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

benêt

(derogatory) A foolish or silly person. [from 16th c.]

bénévole

Done, given, or acting of one's own free will.

bénévolement

(legal, medicine) Without charging a fee, done without fee, generally for clients or patients of limited means.

bénévolence

(uncountable) Disposition to do good.

Bengale

A geographic region in the northeast of South Asia today divided between Bangladesh and India (particularly the state of West Bengal).

bengali

Of, from or pertaining to Bengal or the Bengalis.

Benghazi

A port city in eastern Libya.

béni

Having divine aid, or protection, or other blessing.

béni-oui-oui

Wavering; lacking in commitment, certainty, support, and (often) clarity; namby-pamby.

bénigne

(of an illness or pain) Not serious or dangerous.

Bénin

A country in West Africa, formerly Dahomey.

bénir

(Perl, _, programming, transitive, past tense only blessed) To turn (a reference) into an object.

bénit

Revered in a religion.

benjamin

The lastborn of a family; the youngest sibling, irrespective of age.

benjamine

The lastborn of a family; the youngest sibling, irrespective of age.

benne

A dropper of refuse, particularly not in landfill or recycling sites.

benne basculante

(countable, rail transport) An apparatus for unloading railroad freight cars by tipping them; the place where this is done.

benner

(chiefly, British, informal) To dispose of (something) by putting it into a bin, or as if putting it into a bin.

benoît

(derogatory) Hypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious; smugly morally superior.

benzène

(organic compound) An aromatic hydrocarbon of formula C6H6 whose structure consists of a ring of alternate single and double bonds.

benzo-

(organic chemistry) Related to benzene or benzoic acid.

benzol

(organic chemistry) An impure benzene (mixed with toluene etc), used in the arts as a solvent, and for various other purposes.

Béotien

(historical) An inhabitant or a resident of Boeotia.

béotienne

(derogatory) A person who is ignorant or uneducated; specifically, a person who lacks appreciation of or is antagonistic towards art or culture, and who has pedestrian tastes.

béotisme

A materialistic attitude accompanied by ignorance of artistic or cultural matters.

Beowulf

(poetic) An Anglo-Saxon personal name, usually with reference to the hero of the poem, or to the poem itself.

béquille

(idiomatic, US) A muscle cramp, usually a strong one, in the thigh, leg, arm, or core.

berbère

Of the Berber people, their culture, or their language.

Berbérie

(historical) The Mediterranean coastal areas of North Africa that were used as a base by pirates in the 16th to 19th centuries.

bercail

(figuratively) Home, family.

bercé trop près du mur

(derogatory) A foolish or silly person. [from 16th c.]

berceau

(US) A baby’s bed with high, often slatted, often moveable sides, suitable for a child who has outgrown a cradle or bassinet.