| Dictionary of French Expressions - M |
| Idiomatic French expressions, phrasal verbs, and French formulas |
More than 2,000 French expressions, including idiomatic expressions, proverbs, phrasal verbs, and French formulas. Expressions are arranged alphabetically by the first word in the French expression, not including articles.
| Abbreviations | |||
| (fam) | familiar | (inf) | informal |
| qqun | quelqu'un | qqch | quelque chose |
| s.o. | someone | s.t. | something |
Dictionary of French Expressions
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
| Madame est servie. | Dinner is served. | |
| maigre comme un clou | thin as a rail. | |
| le mal du siècle | world-weariness | |
| Un malheur ne vient jamais seul. | It never rains but it pours. | |
| mal se tirer de | to do/manage something poorly | |
| manger dans la main à qqun | to eat out of one's hand | |
| manger dans l'assiette | to eat off of a plate | |
| manger du bout des dents | to nibble | |
| manquer à | to miss s.o. | |
| manquer de | to neglect, fail to, lack | |
| manquer le coup | to fail completely, botch it | |
| marquer le coup (inf) | to mark the occasion; to show a reaction | |
| marquer un temps d'arrêt | to pause | |
| une mauvaise langue | a gossip | |
| le meilleur des deux | the better of the two | |
| meilleur marché | cheaper | |
| meilleurs voeux | best wishes | |
| mêler à | to mingle with / to join in | |
| Merci beaucoup | Thank you very much | |
| Merci bien | Thanks a lot (sincere and sarcastic) | |
| merci d'avance | thanks in advance | |
| merci de + abstract noun | thank you for (e.g., your kindness) | |
| merci de + past infinitive | thank you for + gerund | |
| Merci mille fois | Thanks a million | |
| merci pour + concrete noun | thank you for (e.g., the book) | |
| mériter de | to deserve to | |
| mésurer en (mètres) | to measure in (meters) | |
| Mettons que... | Let's say/Suppose that... | |
| mettre 5 heures à faire | to take 5 hours to do s.t. | |
| mettre à jour | to update | |
| mettre au jour | to bring into the light | |
| mettre beaucoup de soin à faire | to take great care in doing s.t. | |
| mettre de l'ardeur à faire qch | to do s.t. eagerly | |
| mettre de l'argent dans | to put money into | |
| mettre de l'argent pour | to pay for | |
| mettre de l'argent sur | to spend money on | |
| mettre du temps (à faire qqchose) | to take time (to do something) | |
| mettre en relief | to bring out, enhance, accentuate | |
| mettre la radio | to turn the radio on | |
| mettre la table | to set the table | |
| mettre le réveil | to set the alarm | |
| mettre le verrou | to bolt the door | |
| mettre l'eau à la bouche de qqun | to make s.o.'s mouth water | |
| mettre les bouts | (fam) | to skedaddle, scarper |
| mettre les informations | to turn the news on | |
| mettre les pieds dans le plat | to make a blunder; do s.t. stupid | |
| mettre les voiles | (fam) | Get lost! |
| mettre qqch à plat | to lay s.t. down flat | |
| mettre qqch debout | to stand s.t. up | |
| mettre qqch droit | to set s.t. straight | |
| mettre qqnn (parmi les grands) | to rank or rate s.o. (among the greats) | |
| mettre qqun au pas | to bring s.o. in line | |
| mettre qqun au pied du mur | to corner s.o. | |
| mettre qqun dans l'obligation/la nécessité de faire | to compel s.o. to do s.t. | |
| mettre son espoir dans | to pin one's hopes on | |
| mettre tous ses oeufs dans le même panier | to put all of one's eggs in one basket | |
| mettre un mot dans la bouche de qqun | to put a word into s.o.'s mouth | |
| Le mieux est l'ennemi de bien. | Let well enough alone. | |
| le mieux-être | greater welfare, improved standard of living | |
| mieux que jamais | better than ever | |
| le mieux serait de | the best thing/plan would be to | |
| Mieux vaut plier que rompre. | Adapt and survive. | |
| Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir. | Prevention is better than cure. | |
| Mieux vaut tard que jamais | Better late than never | |
| le mieux-vivre | improved standard of living | |
| Mille fois merci | Thanks a million! Bless you! | |
| la mise à exécution | implementation, enforcement | |
| mise à jour | act of updating, updated | |
| mise à mort | kill | |
| mise à pied | dismissal (employment) | |
| mise à prix | reserve/upset price | |
| mise au monde | birth | |
| mise au point | tuning, focusing, clarification | |
| mise de fonds | capital outlay | |
| mise en accusation | indictment | |
| mise en bière | placement into a coffin | |
| mise en boîte | canning | |
| mise en boîte (inf) | ridiculing, leg-pulling | |
| mise en bouteille | bottling | |
| mise en cause | calling into question, pointing a finger at | |
| mise en condition | conditioning | |
| mise en demeure | formal demand or notice | |
| mise en examen | placing under investigation | |
| mise en forme | imposition (typography); warming/limbering up (sports) | |
| mise en gage | pawning | |
| mise en jeu | involvement, bringing into play | |
| mise en marche | starting up (a machine or apparatus) | |
| mise en ondes | production (radio) | |
| mise en page | make-up (typography) | |
| mise en plis | hair setting | |
| mise en pratique | putting into practice | |
| mise en relief | enhancement, accentuation | |
| mise en sacs | packing | |
| mise en scène | production (theater or film) | |
| mise en service | putting or starting into service | |
| La mise en service de l'autobus sera... | The bus will be put into service on... | |
| mise en valeur | development, improvement | |
| mise en vigueur | enforcement | |
| mise sur pied | setting up | |
| Moi, je... | As for me, I... | |
| mon petit chat | sweetie, poppet | |
| Mon petit doigt me l'a dit. | A little bird told me. | |
| se monter | to come to, amount to | |
| monter à | to go up to visit / work in (a city) |
|
| monter à bicyclette | to cycle up; to ride a bike | |
| monter à bord (d'un navire) | to go on board a ship | |
| monter à cheval | to get on a horse; to ride a horse | |
| monter à / jusqu'à | to come up to | |
| monter à/dans sa chambre | to go up to one's room | |
| monter à pied | to walk up | |
| monter aux arbres | to climb trees | |
| monter dans l'estime de qqun | to rise in someone's estimation | |
| monter dans un avion | to board a plane | |
| monter dans un train | to board a train | |
| monter des mailles | to cast on stitches | |
| monter en courant | to run up | |
| monter en flèche | to soar (literally and figuratively) | |
| monter en grade | to be promoted | |
| monter en lacets | to wind upwards | |
| monter en parallèle | to connect in parallel | |
| monter en pente douce | to rise gently | |
| monter en série | to connect in series | |
| monter en titubant | to stagger up | |
| monter en train | to go up by train | |
| monter en voiture | to drive up; to get into a car | |
| monter le bourrichon à qqun | (inf) | to put ideas in someone's head |
| se monter le bourrichon | (inf) | to get ideas |
| monter le coup à qqun | (fam) | to take someone for a ride |
| monter l'escalier | to go up the stairs | |
| monter la gamme | to go up the scale (music) | |
| monter la garde | to go/be on guard | |
| monter le son | to turn the volume up | |
| monter la tête à qqun | to get someone worked up | |
| se monter la tête (pour un rien) | to get all worked up (over nothing) | |
| monter par l'ascenseur | to take the elevator up | |
| monter prévenir quelqu'un | to go up and tell someone | |
| monter qqch en épingle | to blow something all out of proportion | |
| monter qqun contre qqun | to set someone against someone | |
| monter voir quelqu'un | to go up and see someone | |
| monter sur | to climb up on | |
| monter sur le trône | to ascend to the throne | |
| monter sur un arbre | to climb a tree | |
| monter sur une bicyclette | to get on a bicycle | |
| monter sur une colline | to climb a hill | |
| monter sur une échelle | to climb a ladder | |
| monter un cheval | to ride a horse | |
| monter une côté | to go up a hill | |
| monter un coup | to plan a job | |
| monter une histoire pour déshonorer qqun | to invent a scandal to ruin someone's name | |
| La montre avance de cinq minutes. | The watch is five minutes fast. | |
| montrer le bout de son nez | to show one's face, peep around (the corner, door) | |
| un moteur à 4 temps | 4-stroke engine | |
| Motus et bouche cousue ! | (inf) | Mum's the word! Don't tell anyone! |
| mourir au champ d'honneur | to be killed in action | |
| mourir d'envie de | to be dying to | |
| La moutarde me monte au nez. | I'm losing my temper. | |
| Les murs ont des oreilles. | Walls have ears. | |
Dictionary of French Expressions
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
French Dictionaries Expressions Index Verbs with Prepositions
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