French Expressions with Mettre

A girl helps a woman to set the table

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The French verb mettre literally means "to put" and is also used in many idiomatic expressions. Learn how to take great care in doing something, spend money on, bolt the door, and more with this list of expressions with mettre.

Common Expressions Using Mettre

mettre 5 heures à faire
to take 5 hours to do something

mettre à jour
to update

mettre à l'essai
to put to the test

mettre beaucoup de soin à faire
to take great care in doing something

mettre de l'ardeur à faire quelque chose
to do something 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 de l'eau dans son vin
to tone it down

mettre en colère
to make angry

mettre en relief
to bring out, enhance, accentuate

mettre la radio
to turn on the radio

mettre la table
to set the table

mettre le réveil
to set the alarm

mettre le verrou
to bolt the door

mettre les bouts (familiar)
Get lost!

mettre les informations
to turn on the news

mettre les pieds dans le plat
similar to mess up; put one's foot in one's mouth

mettre les voiles (familiar)
Get lost!

mettre quelque chose à plat
to lay something down flat

mettre quelque chose debout
to stand something up

mettre (quelque chose) de côté
to put (something) aside

mettre quelque chose droit
to set something straight

mettre quelqu'un (parmi les grands) 
to rank or rate someone (among the greats)

mettre quelqu'un au pas
to bring someone in line

mettre quelqu'un dans l'obligation/la nécessité de faire
to compel someone to do something

mettre sa langue dans sa poche (informal)
to be quiet, stay silent

mettre son grain de sel (informal)
to stick one's nose in, to butt in

Il y a mis le temps !
He's taken his sweet time doing it!

J'y mets la dernière main
I'm putting the finishing touches on

Mettons que...
Let's say/Suppose that...

On m'a mis au pied du mur.
I was cornered.

Qu'est-ce qu'ils nous ont mis !
They beat the heck out of us!

Va te faire mettre ! (slang)
Get lost!

Meanings and Usage of Se Mettre

The pronominal French verb se mettre has several possible meanings and is also used in many idiomatic expressions. Learn how to come clean, team up, gather round, and more expressions with se mettre.

  • to become
  • to get (obtain)
  • to go
  • to put on
  • to put oneself

ne pas savoir où se mettre
to not know what to do with oneself

se mettre au français, à la guitare
to start learning French, to play the guitar

se mettre à + infinitive
to start doing something

se mettre à poil (informal)
to strip off, strip down to one's birthday suit

se mettre à quelqu'un
to team up with someone

se mettre au régime
to go on a diet

se mettre à table
to sit down to eat, to come clean

se mettre autour de
to gather round

se mettre au travail
to start working

se mettre au vert
to lie low

se mettre avec
to team up with, side with

se mettre dans une colère noire
to fly into a terrible rage

se mettre dans une situation délicate
to get oneself into an awkward situation

se mettre en colère
to get angry

se mettre sur son trente et un
to get dressed to the nines

se mettre sur un rang
to form a line/queue

se mettre une idée dans la tête
to get an idea into one's head

s'en mettre partout
to get covered in it, to get something all over oneself

s'y mettre
to get down to, to get on with

s'y mettre à + noun
to go on, take up

s'y mettre + infinitive
to start doing

Meanings and Usage of La Mise

Mise is the feminine of mis, the past participle of mettreLa mise has numerous meanings and is also used in many idiomatic expressions. Learn how to say involvement, make-up, leg-pulling and more with this list of expressions with mise.

  • putting, setting
  • clothing, attire
  • (betting) stake, ante
  • (business) outlay

la mise à exécution
implementation, enforcement

la mise à feu
firing, setting off, blast-off

la mise à jour
act of updating, updated

la mise à l'eau
launch

la mise à mort
kill

la mise à pied (employment)
dismissal

la mise à prix
reserve/upset price

la mise au monde
birth

la mise au point
tuning, focusing, clarification

la mise bas
birth (of an animal)

la mise de fonds
capital outlay

la mise en abîme
mise en abyme, image within its own image

la mise en accusation
indictment

la mise en bière
placement into a coffin

la mise en boîte
canning; (informal) ridiculing, leg-pulling

la mise en bouteille
bottling

la mise en cause
calling into question, pointing a finger at

la mise en condition
conditioning

la mise en conserve
canning

la mise en demeure
formal demand or notice

la mise en examen
placing under investigation

la mise en forme
(sports) warming/limbering up; (typography) imposition

la mise en gage
pawning

la mise en jambes
warm-up exercises

la mise en jeu
involvement, bringing into play

la mise en marche
starting up (a machine or apparatus)

la mise en œuvre
implementation

la mise en ondes (radio)
production

la mise en page (typography)
make-up

la mise en place
set up, stocking, imposition

la mise en plis
hair setting

la mise en pratique
putting into practice

la mise en relief
enhancement, accentuation

la mise en route
starting up, setting off/out

la mise en sacs
packing

la mise en scène (theater, film)
production

la mise en service - La mise en service de l'autobus sera...
putting or starting into service - The bus will be put into service on...

la mise en valeur
development, improvement

la mise en vigueur
enforcement

la mise sur pied
setting up

être de mise
(fig) to be acceptable, appropriate; (archaic) to be in circulation, legal currency

remporter la mise
to carry the day, win big

sauver la mise
to withdraw from a game of stakes; (fig) to save the day

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Team, ThoughtCo. "French Expressions with Mettre." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/french-expressions-with-mettre-1368690. Team, ThoughtCo. (2023, April 5). French Expressions with Mettre. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/french-expressions-with-mettre-1368690 Team, ThoughtCo. "French Expressions with Mettre." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/french-expressions-with-mettre-1368690 (accessed March 28, 2024).