Meaning & use
french fries
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
long, thin pieces of potato that are fried until crisp and usually eaten hot with salt
Grammar: Always plural; to talk about one piece, say 'a french fry'.
Patterns
- a plate of french fries
- order french fries
- french fries with something
The children shared a large order of french fries.
I'd like a burger and french fries, please.
These french fries are too salty for me.
Word forms
| singular | french fry |
|---|
Common combinations
- a side of french fries
- The meal comes with a side of french fries.
- french fries and ketchup
- He always eats his french fries and ketchup together.
- hot french fries
- We bought hot french fries from the street vendor.
- frozen french fries
- She keeps a bag of frozen french fries in the freezer.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- french fry noun
- A single piece of this food.
Commonly confused: french fries or chips?
french fries vs chips
In the UK, 'chips' are thick fried potatoes (like American fries), but in the US 'chips' are thin crispy potato slices sold in bags.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'french fries' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'French fries' is a plural noun, so it is used with 'some' or no article. 'A french fries' is wrong because 'a' is singular, and 'a french fry' means only one piece, which is not what you usually order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “french fries”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.