Meaning & use
to french
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformal
to kiss someone with your mouths open and tongues touching
Grammar: Can be used with an object (French someone) or without (they were Frenching). Often capitalized.
Patterns
- French someone
- French kiss
They were Frenching in the back of the cinema.
He tried to French her, but she pulled away.
verbtransitivetechnical
to prepare food in a French style, such as cutting green beans into thin strips
Grammar: Used in cooking instructions. Often in the passive: 'French the beans' or 'French-cut beans'.
Patterns
- French beans
- French fries
The chef frenched the green beans for the salad.
French the lamb chops to make them look neat.
Word forms
| third person singular | Frenches |
|---|---|
| past tense | Frenched |
| past participle | Frenched |
| -ing form | Frenching |
Common combinations
- French kiss
- They shared a long French kiss under the stars.
- French fries
- We ordered burgers and French fries.
- French the beans
- French the beans by cutting them lengthwise into thin strips.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- French adjective
- relating to France, its people, or its language
- Frenchman noun
- a man from France
Commonly confused: to french or french?
to french vs french
As a noun, 'French' is the language of France. The verb 'to French' is a different, informal use.
Practice
They were ___ in the corner of the party.
Choose one answer.
The -ing form 'Frenching' is needed after 'were' to make the past continuous tense. 'French' is the base form and does not fit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “to french”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.