French–English dictionary

chanteuse

A person who sings, often professionally.

chantier naval

A place where ships are repaired or outfitted.

chanvre

A tall annual herb, Cannabis sativa, native to Asia.

chao

A word or phrase said upon leaving, such as "farewell" or "adieu".

chaos

A lack of array or regular order; disorder; confusion.

chaotique

(of a place, situation, person, etc) In a disorderly state; chaotic; disorderly.

chaoui

An omnivorous, nocturnal mammal native to the Americas, of the genus Procyon, typically with a mixture of gray, brown, and black fur, a mask-like marking around the eyes and a striped tail.

chaparder

(ambitransitive) To steal in small quantities, or articles of small value; to practise petty theft.

chape

A U-shaped coupling having holes at each end, through which a bolt is run; used especially to fit attachments to a tractor or other vehicle as it allows a degree of rotation about the bolt.

chapeau

An academic mortarboard.

chapeau bas

(figurative) Used to express approval or praise: congratulations, kudos, well done! [with to]

chapeau de mousse

(uncountable, countable) The foam that forms on top of beer or other carbonated beverages.

chapeau mou

A felt hat with a fairly low, creased crown with a brim that can be turned up or down.

chapeauter

(transitive) To be in command of. (See also head up.)

chapelain

A member of a religious body who is (often, although not always, of the clergy) officially assigned to provide pastoral care at an institution, group, private chapel, etc.

chapelet

A string of beads used by members of various religions to count prayers, chants, or devotions.

chapelier

A person who makes, sells, or repairs hats.

chapelle

(UK) A place of worship of a denomination not in conformity with the Church of England, usually Protestant.

chaperon

An older person who accompanies other younger people to ensure the propriety of their behaviour, often an older woman accompanying a young woman.

chaperonner

To act as a chaperone.

chapiteau

(countable, architectural element) The uppermost part of a column.

chapitre

A section of a work, a collection of works, or fragments of works, often manuscripts or transcriptions, created by scholars or advocates, not the original authors, to aid in finding portions of the texts.

chapitrer

(of a person) To criticise harshly; to reprove.

chaque

All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every).

chaque fois que

At each occasion that.

chaque jour

quotidianly, every day

chaque semaine

Once every week.

char

(US, Canada, Philippines, AU, NZ) A type of motor vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and a very limited amount of other load.

char d'assaut

An armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a gun designed for direct fire, and moving on caterpillar tracks.

char de combat

The primary tank of a country or armed forces.

char-à-bancs

(British, historical) A horse-drawn, and then later, motorized omnibus with open sides, and often, no roof.

charabia

Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.

charade

(uncommon) A single round of the game charades, an acted form of the earlier riddles.

charançon

Any of many tens of thousands of species of herbivorous beetles, ranging in size from tiny to large, in the superfamily Curculionoidea, the most characteristic species having the head projecting in a distinctive snout with the mouthparts at the tip.

charbon

(pathology) An acute infectious disease of herbivores, especially sheep and cattle, caused by Bacillus anthracis.

charbon de bois

(countable, uncountable) impure carbon obtained by destructive distillation of wood or other organic matter, that is, heating it in the absence of oxygen.

charbon symptomatique

(uncountable, agriculture, veterinary medicine) A fatal cattle disease caused by the soil-borne bacterium Clostridium chauvoei; symptomatic anthrax. [from 18th c.]

charbonnage

A mine from which coal (such as lignite or anthracite) is mined.

charbonner

(ambitransitive) To sell, especially to sell illicit drugs.

charcuter

(transitive) To ruin (something), often to the point of defamation.

chardon

This plant seen as the national emblem of Scotland.

chardon étoilé

(colloquial) The starthistle, Centaurea calcitrapa, a plant with sharp thorns.

charge

A heavy load.

charge de la preuve

(legal) Burden of proof, onus probandi.

chargé de pouvoirs

(legal) One who holds a thing in trust for another.

chargé de sens

(of a word or phrase) Having strong connotations that colour the literal meaning and are likely to provoke an emotional response. Sometimes used loosely to describe a word that simply has many different meanings.

charge de travail

The amount of work assigned to a particular worker, normally in a specified time period.

charge utile

That part of a cargo that produces revenue.

chargée

(circuitry) Electrically charged or energized, usually indicating that the item may cause electrocution if touched.

chargement

(uncountable) Goods or items in transport; cargo, luggage.

charger

(transitive, criminal law, police) To formally accuse (a person) of a crime.

chargeur

A device that charges or recharges.

chargeur sur pneus

A tractor with a scoop, for example: front-end loader, front loader, endloader, payloader, bucket loader, tracked loader, wheel loader, etc.

chargeuse sur pneus

A tractor with a scoop, for example: front-end loader, front loader, endloader, payloader, bucket loader, tracked loader, wheel loader, etc.

chargeuse-pelleteuse

(chiefly, US, Canada, Australia) Ellipsis of backhoe loader: A multi-purpose tractor with a front-mounted loading bucket and a rear-mounted digging bucket. The tractor combines a front-end loader/loader (component) and an excavator/digger (component).

charia

(Islam) A body of religious law forming a part of the Islamic tradition based on the scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith.

chariot

A hanging carriage or car for transporting people or cargo.

chariot élévateur

A small industrial vehicle with a power-operated fork-like pronged platform that can be raised and lowered for insertion under a load, often on pallets, to be lifted and moved.

charismatique

A member of the Charismatic Movement.

charisme

(Christianity, theology, rare) A power or authority, generally of a spiritual nature, believed to be a freely given gift by the Grace of God.

charivari

The noisy banging of pots and pans as a mock serenade to a newly married couple, or similar occasion.

charlatan

A malicious trickster; a fake person, especially one who deceives for personal profit.

charlatanisme

(uncountable) The state of being a charlatan.

Charlemagne

One of the kings of the Franks from 768 to 814, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 until his death in 814.

Charlène

A en given name; most used in the U.S. in the 1940s.

Charles

A en given name.

Charlotte

A en given name.

charmant

Pleasant, charismatic.

charme

An object, act or words believed to have magic power (usually carries a positive connotation).

charmer

To seduce, persuade or fascinate someone or something.

charmeuses

A growth of facial hair between the nose and the upper lip.

charnière

A jointed or flexible device that allows the pivoting of a door etc.

charnu

(of a person) Having considerable flesh; plump.

charognard

An animal that feeds on decaying matter such as carrion.

charogne

Rotting flesh of a dead animal or person.

Charon

(astronomy) The largest of the five moons of Pluto.

charpenterie

(uncountable) The trade of cutting and joining timber in order to construct buildings or other structures; woodworking.

Charpentier

A surname originating as an occupation derived from the trade name carpenter.

charpie

A fine material made by scraping cotton or linen cloth; used for dressing wounds.

charqui

Lean meat cured and preserved by cutting into thin strips and air-drying in the sun.

charretier

A person who transports a load on a cart that is drawn by a beast of burden.

charrette

A small, open, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by a person or animal, often with two wheels on one axle, more often used for transporting goods than passengers.

charrette à bras

A cart designed to be pulled or pushed by hand (as opposed to with a beast of burden.)

charrette anglaise

A two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with two transverse seats back to back. The rear seat originally closed up to form a box for carrying dogs.

charrette des condamnés

(historical) A cart used to carry condemned prisoners to their death, especially to the guillotine during the French Revolution.

charrier

(transitive, colloquial) To mock or make a fool of (someone) in a playful way.

charriot

A two-wheeled horse-drawn cart, used in Bronze Age and Early Iron Age warfare.

charron

A person who builds and repairs wheels, especially wooden spoked ones.

charrue

(agriculture) A device pulled through the ground in order to break it open into furrows for planting.

chartiste

(historical) Relating to Chartism.

chasme

(geology, planetology) A deep, steep-sided rift, gap or fissure; a gorge or abyss.

châsse

The part of an object which is (designed to be) held in the hand when used or moved.

chasse à l'homme

An organized search for a criminal or enemy.

chasse à la baleine

The practice of hunting whales.

chasse aux têtes

cutting-off and preservation of the heads of one's enemies

chasse d'eau

In a flush toilet, the container in which the water used for flushing is held; a toilet tank.

chasse-neige

(skiing, skating) A maneuver in which the tips of the skis or skates point inwards and the back ends point outwards.

chasser

(transitive) To hunt buffalo.

chasseresse

(literary) A female hunter.

chasseur

A male worker, usually at a hotel, who carries luggage and runs errands.

chasseur de baleine

One who hunts whales; a person employed in the whaling industry.

chasseuse

A female bellhop.

chasseuse de baleine

One who hunts whales; a person employed in the whaling industry.

chassie

(uncountable) Thin or watery discharge of mucus or serum, especially from the eyes or nose, formerly thought to cause disease. [from 14th c.]

chassieux

Producing rheum from the mucous membranes; (also, figuratively) especially of the eyes: filled with rheum; watery.

châssis

The base frame of a motor vehicle.

chaste

Sexually pure, abstaining from immoral or unlawful sexual intercourse.

chasteté

The quality of being chaste: the state of abstaining from any sexual activity considered immoral; avoidance of sexual sins.

chasuble

(sports) A colourful polyester or plastic vest worn over one's clothes, usually to mark one's team during group activities.

chat

A carnivorous, four-legged, generally furry domesticated species (Felis catus) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet. [from 8th c.]

chat de gouttière

An urban feral cat.

chat sauvage

A North American wildcat, Lynx rufus, having tufted ears and a short tail.

chat tigré

(countable) A brindled cat.

chat-chouage

An omnivorous, nocturnal mammal native to the Americas, of the genus Procyon, typically with a mixture of gray, brown, and black fur, a mask-like marking around the eyes and a striped tail.

châtaigne

(uncountable) A dark, reddish-brown colour, as seen on the fruit of the chestnut tree.

châtaigner

(uncountable) Wood of a chestnut tree.

châtain

The fruit of this tree.

chataire

Nepeta cataria and Nepeta grandiflora (and perhaps other species), which are well-known for causing an apparently harmless pheromone-based intoxication among certain cats.

chatbot

(internet, AI) A computer program that holds conversations through a chat room.

château

A large residential building or compound that is fortified and contains many defences; in previous ages often inhabited by a nobleman or king. Also, a house or mansion with some of the architectural features of medieval castles.

château-fort

A large residential building or compound that is fortified and contains many defences; in previous ages often inhabited by a nobleman or king. Also, a house or mansion with some of the architectural features of medieval castles.

châtelain

(chiefly, _, historical) The governor or caretaker entrusted to oversee a castle or keep for its lord.

châtelaine

A short chain or ribbon to connect such a pocket to the watch.

châtier

(transitive, formal) To punish or reprimand someone severely.

châtiment

The act of chastising; rebuke; punishment.

chatoiement

A faint or veiled and tremulous gleam or shining.

chaton

The rim and flange which encompasses and fastens a jewel or other object, such as the crystal of a watch, in the cavity in which it is set.

chatouille

The act of tickling.

chatouiller

(transitive) To touch repeatedly or stroke delicately in a manner which typically causes laughter, pleasure and twitching.

chatouilleux

Sensitive or susceptible to being tickled.

chatoyement

A faint or veiled and tremulous gleam or shining.

chatoyer

(intransitive) To be iridescent; to exhibit iridescence.

châtré

(dialectal, informal) Surgically rendered sterile (e.g. spayed, neutered, or castrated).

châtrer

(transitive) To remove the testicles of a person or animal.

chatte

(vulgar, slang) Vulva

chatter

To exchange text or voice messages in real time through a computer network such as a social media chat room or messaging application (as if having a face-to-face conversation instead of SMS or writing emails or letters).

chaud

(slang) Sexually aroused, with or without physical manifestation; experiencing a feeling of sexual desire.

chaude

Of a somewhat high temperature, often but not always connoting that the high temperature is pleasant rather than uncomfortable.

chaudement

In a hearty manner.

chaudière

A device consisting of a heat source and a tank for storing hot water, typically for space heating, domestic hot water etc., disregarding the source of heat.

chaudrée

A thick, creamy soup or stew.

chaudron

A large bowl-shaped pot used for boiling over an open flame.

chauffant

Causing heat.

chauffe

(countable) One cycle of bringing metal to maximum temperature and working it until it is too cool to work further.

chauffe-eau

A device consisting of a heat source and a tank for storing hot water, typically for space heating, domestic hot water etc., disregarding the source of heat.

chauffer

(transitive) To cause an increase in temperature of (an object or space); to cause to become hot (often with "up").

chauffer en frictionnant

Heat excited by friction.

chauffeur

A person employed to drive a private motor car or a hired car of executive or luxury class (like a limousine).

chauffeuse

A person employed to drive a private motor car or a hired car of executive or luxury class (like a limousine).

chaume

(countable, and, uncountable) The short stalks left in a field after crops have been harvested.