1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of France, its people, or their language
2
: of or relating to the overseas descendants of the French people
Frenchness
noun
1
plural in construction
: the French people
2
: a Romance language that developed out of the Vulgar Latin spoken in northern and central Transalpine Gaul and that became the literary and official language of France
3
: strong language
pardon my French
frenched; frenching; frenches
often capitalized
1
: to trim the meat from the end of the bone of (something, such as a chop)
2
: to cut (green beans) in thin lengthwise strips before cooking
Examples of French in a Sentence
Noun
the customs of the French
Recent Examples on the Web
Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 22 June 2024
Reports of French bed bugs rose largely because people saw horror headlines and started looking under their mattresses.
—Alena Botros, Fortune Europe, 22 June 2024
No need to think too hard about the times my gaze lingered on a girl in French class or at cross country practice.
—Julie Depenbrock, NPR, 22 June 2024
The outlines of such an arrangement have been put forward by American and French mediators.
—Firas Maksad, TIME, 22 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for French 
Adjective
This shift is largely credited to French designer Coco Chanel, who, in 1923, returned from a trip to the French Riviera with an accidental suntan.
—Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 22 June 2024
Reports of French bed bugs rose largely because people saw horror headlines and started looking under their mattresses.
—Alena Botros, Fortune Europe, 22 June 2024
No need to think too hard about the times my gaze lingered on a girl in French class or at cross country practice.
—Julie Depenbrock, NPR, 22 June 2024
The outlines of such an arrangement have been put forward by American and French mediators.
—Firas Maksad, TIME, 22 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for French
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'French.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near French
Cite this Entry
“French.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/French. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
French
1 of 2 adjective
: of or relating to France, its people, or their language
French
2 of 2 noun1
: the Romance language of the French
2
French plural
: the people of France
Medical Definition
French
noun
plural French
: a unit of measure equal to one-third millimeter used in measuring the outside diameter of a tubular instrument (as a catheter or sound) inserted into a bodily cavity
the catheter shaft size is three French—Medical Industry Today
—abbreviation F
Medical Industry TodayBiographical Definition
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