| 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. |
| maintes fois | many times |
| Mais je parle, je parle... | But enough about me... |
| La maladie, ça peut vous tomber dessus n'importe quand | You can fall ill any time |
| 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 |
| mal tomber | to occur at the wrong time; to be unlucky |
| 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 |
| marcher à grands pas | to stride along |
| marcher au pas | to march |
| marcher d'un bon pas | to walk at a brisk pace |
| marcher d'un pas lent | to walk slowly |
| marcher sur les pas de qqun | to follow in someone's footsteps |
| marquer le coup (inf) | to mark the occasion; to show a reaction |
| marquer le pas | to mark time |
| marquer un temps d'arrêt | to pause |
| une mauvaise langue | a gossip |
| un mauvais coup | dirty trick, mean trick, nasty blow |
| 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 les choses au point. | Let's get things straight/clear. |
| 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... |
| moi qui vous parle | I myself/personally |
| mon petit chat | sweetie, poppet |
| Mon petit doigt me l'a dit. | A little bird told me. |
| Monsieur Chose | Mr. What's-his-name |
| Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle je-sais-tout (informal) | smart-alec, know-it-all |
| 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 (informal) | to put ideas in someone's head |
| se monter le bourrichon (informal) | 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 ! (informal) | 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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