What does cloche in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word cloche in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use cloche in French.

The word cloche in French means bell, cloche, dome, bell cover, plate cover, idiot, stupid, cloche hat, blister, tower, bell tower, steeple, church tower, be wrong, village, limp, cover, put under a cloche, on one leg, cloche hat, diving bell, diving helmet, glass cloche, glass bell cloche, bell-shaped curve, do a moonlight flit, hear different versions, chime with each other, there is something not quite right about him, put under a cover, put a cover over, get a different story, get a different version of events, hop, have a real feast, story, side of the story, in lockdown. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word cloche

bell

nom féminin (instrument de musique)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les cloches de l'église sonnent à toute volée.
The church bells are ringing out loud.

cloche, dome, bell cover, plate cover

nom féminin (couvercle)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Sur le comptoir se trouvait un gâteau sous une cloche. Quand je reçois des invités, je garde le fromage sous une cloche.
On the counter, a large chocolate cake was displayed under a cloche.

idiot

nom féminin (familier (personne bête)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Quelle cloche ! J'ai oublié mes clés au bureau !
What a numpty (or: muppet)! I've left my keys at the office!

stupid

adjectif (familier (bête, idiot)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
Que je suis cloche : j'ai encore oublié mes clés au bureau !
I'm so stupid: I've left my keys at the office again!

cloche hat

nom féminin (chapeau féminin)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La cloche était très à la mode dans les années folles.
The cloche hat was very fashionable in the roaring twenties.

blister

nom féminin (Belgique (ampoule, cloque)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Marie s'est fait des cloches avec ses nouvelles chaussures.
Mary has given herself blisters with her new shoes.

tower, bell tower, steeple, church tower

nom masculin (tour d'église pour les cloches)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le clocher de l'église s'aperçoit de loin.
The church's bell tower can be seen from far away.

be wrong

verbe intransitif (familier (aller mal, de travers)

Il y a quelque chose qui cloche dans cette histoire.
There's something not quite right about all this.

village

nom masculin (soutenu (village)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Charles était toujours attaché à son clocher.
Charles was still attached to his village.

limp

verbe intransitif (vieilli (boiter)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
Roger cloche depuis sa chute de vélo.
Roger walks with a limp since falling off his bike.

cover

verbe transitif (mettre une préparation culinaire sous cloche)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Le chef cloche le plat pour l'apporter sur la table.
The chef covers the dish so it can be brought to the table.

put under a cloche

verbe transitif (mettre sous une cloche)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Le jardinier cloche les plantes pour les protéger du froid.
The gardener uses a cloche to protect the plants from the cold.

on one leg

locution adverbiale (sur un pied)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Le garçon s'est blessé au pied gauche et est revenu à cloche-pied.

cloche hat

nom masculin (chapeau en forme de cloche)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le chapeau cloche n'est plus à la mode.

diving bell

nom féminin (1er dispositif d'exploration sous-marine)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

diving helmet

nom féminin (1er casque sous-marin)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

glass cloche, glass bell cloche

nom féminin (figuré, péjoratif (plante : couvercle de forçage) (horticulture)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Au début du printemps, je place des cloches de verre sur mes semis.

bell-shaped curve

nom féminin (mathématiques : fonction gaussienne)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La représentation graphique d'une fonction gaussienne est une courbe en cloche.

do a moonlight flit

locution verbale (partir sans payer) (UK, informal)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

hear different versions

locution verbale (entendre des avis opposés)

I've heard several different versions of that story.

chime with each other

locution verbale (entendre la même version de [qch]) (story, account)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Quels que soient les témoignages, le commissaire entend toujours le même son de cloche. L'inspecteur n'entend pas le même son de cloche en fonction des témoins.
It seemed to the inspector that the witnesses weren't singing from the same hymn sheet.

there is something not quite right about him

(il a quelque chose de bizarre)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

put under a cover, put a cover over

locution verbale (protéger)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Le plateau de fromages est mis sous cloche pour le protéger des mouches.

get a different story, get a different version of events

locution verbale (avoir une version différente)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
En politique, suivant le parti qui répond à une question, tu n'as pas le même son de cloche.
You often find that the answers political parties give to the same questions don't chime with each other.

hop

locution verbale (sauter sur un pied)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
Les enfants sautent à cloche-pied quand ils jouent à la marelle.

have a real feast

locution verbale (familier (faire un très bon repas)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Nous nous sommes tapé la cloche chez lui le week-end dernier.

story, side of the story

nom masculin (version des événements)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Tu n'as entendu que la version de Julie sur cette histoire, mais tu devrais discuter avec Georges pour avoir son son de cloche.

in lockdown

locution adjectivale (figuré, familier (confiné)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
La ville était encore sous cloche, 30 jours après le début de l'épidémie.

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