What does mèche in French mean?

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

The word mèche in French means wick, strand, strand of hair, lock, lock of hair, bit, drill bit, dressing, sulfur, insert a wick to drain, be in cahoots, be in cahoots with, lock of hair, unruly lock, let the cat out of the bag, give the game away. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word mèche

wick

nom féminin (cordon inflammable) (candle)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
On a allumé la mèche des bougies.
The candle wicks have been lit.

strand, strand of hair, lock, lock of hair

nom féminin (touffe de cheveux)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Elle avait une grande mèche blanche dans son épaisse chevelure noire.
She had a large white strand among her thick black hair.

bit, drill bit

nom féminin (foret)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Une mèche de 8 devrait suffire pour ces chevilles.
An 8 mm bit should be enough for those dowels.

dressing

nom féminin (Médecine : bande de gaze) (Medicine)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Il n'y a plus de mèche dans l'armoire à pharmacie.
The pharmacy doesn't have any dressing left in stock.

sulfur

verbe transitif (vieilli (aseptiser un tonneau de vin) (US: winemaking)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Le vigneron mèche le tonneau avant de le remplir de vin.

insert a wick to drain

verbe transitif (chirurgie : drainer) (surgery)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Le médecin mèche la blessure de l'homme accidenté.

be in cahoots

locution verbale (être complice avec [qqn]) (informal)

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

be in cahoots with

(être complice avec [qqn]) (informal)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Cet antiquaire était de mèche avec les trafiquants.

lock of hair

nom féminin (touffe de cheveux)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La jeune femme se coupa une mèche de cheveux pour l'envoyer à son amant.

unruly lock

nom féminin (mèche résistant au coiffage) (hair)

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

let the cat out of the bag, give the game away

locution verbale (révéler [qch]) (figurative, informal)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Je voulais lui faire une surprise pour son anniversaire mais mon frère lui a vendu la mèche !

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So now that you know more about the meaning of mèche in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.