French–English dictionary

crapaud

A small grand piano.

crapaudine

A herb of several species in the genus Sideritis, formerly believed to heal sword cuts.

crapule

Sometimes diminutive: a cheeky person or creature; a troublemaker.

crapuleux

Of, relating to, or appropriate to a villain.

craque

(informal) A lie, especially one that is more or less inconsequential.

craquelé

(ceramics) A style of glaze giving the impression of many small cracks.

craquelin

A dry, thin, crispy baked bread (usually salty or savoury, but sometimes sweet, as in the case of graham crackers and animal crackers).

craquement

A rattling noise; a repetition of abrupt, sharp sounds.

craquer

(UK, informal) To fail to perform a promised or planned action due to lack of courage or nerve; to run away or back down from a contest or challenge.

craquètement

A short, sharp or high note or noise, as of a bird or insect.

craqueter

(Canada) To speak rapid insulting comical banter back and forth; to bicker or argue.

crash

An automobile, airplane, or other vehicle accident.

crasse

Coarse; crude; unrefined or insensitive; lacking discrimination or taste.

crasseux

Covered with filth; very dirty.

cravache

An entire short whip, especially as used in horse-riding.

cravate

A wrestling move where the attacker puts their arm tightly round their opponent's head, which the opponent can't easily escape from.

crayeux

Of or relating to chalk.

crayon

A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and sharpened to a taper. [from 16th c.]

crayon mine

(art) A drawing medium, usually square in cross-section, composed of compressed powdered charcoal or graphite mixed with a clay or wax base. [from mid 19th c.]

créancier

(finance) A person to whom a debt is owed.

créancière

(finance) A person to whom a debt is owed.

Créateur

(religion) A god who created the Universe; God.

créatif

(countable) A person directly involved in a creative marketing process.

création

(informal) A creation of one's brain; an original idea or innovation of a person or group of people, an organization, etc.

créationniste

Of or relating to creationism.

créative

(countable) A person directly involved in a creative marketing process.

créativité

The ability to use imagination to produce a novel idea or product.

créatrice

(social media) Ellipsis of content creator, someone who regularly produces and publishes content on social media, especially of a monetizable nature.

créature

A living creature.

crebleu

(uncountable, euphemistic) God.

crécelle

A baby’s toy designed to make sound when shaken, usually containing loose grains or pellets in a hollow container. [from 16th c.]

crèche

(Christianity) A depiction—which may be pictorial, dramatic, or by means of figurines—of the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger, as described in the New Testament account.

crécher

(intransitive, slang) To make or experience informal temporary living arrangements, especially overnight.

crédibilité

The state or quality of being believable.

crédible

Capable of being believed; credible.

crédiblement

In a credible manner; believably.

crédit

An amount abated; that which is taken away by way of reduction; deduction; decrease; a rebate or discount allowed; in particular from a tax. [Late 15th century.]

créditer

To call to account; to challenge.

crédo

A statement of a belief or a summary statement of a whole belief system; also (metonymically) the belief or belief system itself.

crédule

Naive; innocent; ingenuous.

creek

The Muskogean language of the Creek tribe.

créer

(chiefly, US, sometimes, proscribed) To create a work as its author.

crémaillère

A vertical bar with several notches or chain of rings suspended over a fire, used to hang cooking pots by a hook which has an easily adjustable height.

crémant

(countable, uncountable, informal) Any sparkling white wine.

crémation

A burning; especially the act or practice of cremating the dead, burning a corpse.

crématiser

(transitive) To incinerate a dead body (as an alternative to burial).

crématoire

A place where the bodies of dead people are cremated.

crématorium

A place where the bodies of dead people are cremated.

crème

(countable) The person (or persons; or thing or things) that is (are) most excellent.

crème anglaise

(by extension) A similar sauce made from milk and cornflour or custard powder (and usually sugar, and sometimes vanilla or other flavourings) and thickened by heat.

crème de la crème

The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.

crème glacée

A frozen dessert made of fruit juice, water and sugar.

crème pâtissière

Cream used by confectioners to make pies, etc.

crème solaire

A topical substance formulated to protect the skin from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation by absorbing, reflecting or scattering ultraviolet rays.

crémerie

A place where dairy products are prepared or sold.

crémeux

Of food or drink, having the rich taste or thick, smooth texture of cream, whether or not it actually contains cream.

crémier

A man who delivers milk to households and sometimes businesses early in the morning.

crémière

A woman who delivers milk to households and sometimes businesses early in the morning.

créneau

The space between merlons in a crenelated battlement.

Créole

A descendant of European settlers who is born in a colonized country. [from 17th c.]

créole jamaïcain

The Jamaican creole language.

créosote

A similar brown liquid obtained from coal tar used as a wood preservative.

créosoter

(transitive) To apply creosote.

crêpage de chignons

(slang) A fight or bickering, especially between women.

crêpé

Having frills; frilled.

crêpe de deuil

(sports) A band worn around the arm of the captain of a team.

crépinette

A small pork sausage, usually served fried.

crépitants

(medicine, now, chiefly, in plural) An abnormal clicking, rattling or crackling sound, made by one or both lungs and heard with a stethoscope, caused by the popping open of airways collapsed by fluid or exudate, or sometimes by pulmonary edema.

crépitation

A grating or crackling sensation or sound, as that produced by rubbing two fragments of a broken bone together, or by pressing upon cellular tissue containing air.

crépitement

A prolonged, frequent cracking sound; a fizzing, popping sound.

crépiter

(intransitive) To make a prolonged, frequent cracking sound which sounds like fizzing or popping.

crépu

Formed of a mass of small, tight, wiry curls; unruly or extending in all directions.

crépuscule

(now, _, rare) Twilight.

Crétacé

(geology) The geologic period within the Mesozoic era that comprises lower and upper epochs from about 146 to 66 million years ago.

Crète

An island in the Mediterranean, and the largest in Greece.

crête de coq

A fleshy red crest of a rooster

crête iroquoise

A hairstyle where both sides are shaved, with the hair along the crest of the head kept long, and usually styled so as to stand straight up.

crétin

Very foolish; failing to exercise intelligence or judgement or rationality.

crétois

Of or relating to Crete or its inhabitants.

Crétoise

An inhabitant or a resident of Crete.

creton

The unmeltable residue left after animal fat has been rendered.

creuser

(intransitive) To dig into the ground, especially with a shovel.

creuset

A crucible, or similar pot, used to fuse mixtures of metals etc.

creux

(stud poker) A card (also called a hole card) dealt face down thus unknown to all but its holder; the status in which such a card is.

crevaison

A hole, cut, or tear created by a sharp object.

crevasse

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

crevasser

(transitive) To cause to open in slits or chinks; to split; to cause the skin of to crack or become rough.

crevé

(US, _, slang) Exhausted.

crève-cœur

Overwhelming mental anguish or grief, especially that caused by loss or disappointment.

crever

(idiomatic, euphemistic) To die.

crever de faim

(intransitive) To be very hungry.

crever la dalle

(intransitive) To be very hungry.

crevette

(Commonwealth) A crustacean, sometimes confused with shrimp.

cri

A cry or shout.

cri-cri

An insect in the order Orthoptera, especially family Gryllidae, that makes a chirping sound by rubbing its wing casings against combs on its hind legs.

criant

Clear or manifest to the understanding; plain; evident; obvious; known; palpable; indubitable.

criard

(of things) Bold, bright or showy, often in a tasteless way.

crib

(card games) A point-counting card game for two players, with variants for three or four players; the cribbage board used for scoring to 61 or 121 points in numerous small increments is characteristic.

crible

A device with a mesh, grate, or otherwise perforated bottom to separate, in a granular material, larger particles from smaller ones, or to separate solid objects from a liquid.

cric

A mechanical device used to raise and (temporarily) support a heavy object, now especially to lift one side of a motor vehicle when (e.g.) changing a tyre. [from 17th c.]

cricket

A variant of the game of darts. See Cricket (darts).

cricketeur

A person who plays cricket.

crier

To state, or estimate, approximately or loosely; to characterize without strict regard to fact.

crime

(countable) A specific act committed in violation of the law, especially criminal law.

criméen

Denoting, of, or related to Crimea, a peninsula on the north of the Black Sea, separating it from the Sea of Azov.

Criméenne

Native or inhabitant of the Crimea.

criminalité

(uncountable) The state of being criminal.

criminel

(legal) A person convicted of a crime by a judicial body.

criminelle

A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law.

criminologie

The study of crime and criminals, especially their behaviour.

crincrin

(string instrument) A small unfretted stringed instrument with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) G-D-A-E, usually held against the chin and played with a bow.

cringe

(uncountable, slang, derogatory) Things, particularly online content, which would cause an onlooker to cringe from secondhand embarrassment.

crinière

The upper curve of a horse's neck.

crique

A small coastal inlet, especially one having high cliffs protecting vessels from prevailing winds; bight. [from 16th c.]

criquet

An insect in the order Orthoptera, especially family Gryllidae, that makes a chirping sound by rubbing its wing casings against combs on its hind legs.

crise

(sometimes, attributive) A situation which poses an immediate risk and which requires urgent attention.

crise de colère

(informal) A fit of anger or panic; conniption fit.

crise de panique

(informal) A fit of anger or panic; conniption fit.

crise des nerfs

Hysteria; a bout of hysteria.

crisse

(blasphemous) An expletive.

crissement

(countable) A high-pitched strident or piercing sound, such as that between a moving object and any surface.

crisser

(intransitive) To emit a short, high-pitched sound.

cristal

(uncountable) A fine type of glassware, or the material used to make it.

cristal de roche

(mineral) The most abundant mineral on the earth's surface, of chemical composition silicon dioxide, SiO2. It occurs in a variety of forms, both crystalline and amorphous. Found in every environment.

cristallin

(anatomy) The transparent crystalline structure in the eye.

critère

A standard by which something is evaluated or measured.

critique

(countable) A criticism, a critical remark.

critiquer

(transitive) To chide or scold vehemently.

croa

The harsh cry of a crow.

croassement

The harsh cry of a crow.

croasser

To make the harsh cry of a crow, rook, or raven.

croate

Of or pertaining to Croatia, the Croatian people or their language.

Croates

An inhabitant of Croatia, or a person of Croatian descent.

Croatie

A country on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Official name: Republic of Croatia. Capital and largest city: Zagreb. Part of Yugoslavia until 1991.

croc

A long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh.

croc-en-jambe

The act of tripping someone, or causing them to lose their footing.

croche

Dishonest.

croche-pied

The act of tripping someone, or causing them to lose their footing.

crochet

(sewing) A form of needlework that is made by looping thread with a hooked needle.

crocodile

Any of the predatory amphibious reptiles of the family Crocodylidae; (loosely) a crocodilian, any species of the order Crocodilia, which also includes the alligators, caimans and gavials.

crocodile des marais

A large crocodile, Crocodylus palustris, of southwest Asia, having a very broad wrinkled snout.

crocodilien

Any reptile of the order Crocodilia; a crocodile, alligator, caiman or gavial.

crocoïte

(mineral) A rare red mineral; lead chromate, PbCrO4.

crocus

A perennial flowering plant (of the genus Crocus in the Iridaceae family). Saffron is obtained from the stamens of Crocus sativus.

croire

(ditransitive) To hold in belief or estimation; to adjudge as a conclusion; to regard as being; to evaluate according to one's beliefs; to account.

croire à

To ascribe existence to.

croire en

To ascribe existence to.

croisade

Any of a series of religious campaigns by Christian forces from the 11th to the 13th century, mostly to capture the Holy Land from the Muslims who occupied it.

croisé

Produced by breeding from two breeds, varieties or species.

croisée des chemins

(figuratively, by analogy) A decision point; a turning point or opportunity to change a direction, a course, or a goal.