What does poudre in French mean?

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

The word poudre in French means powder, powder, gunpowder, coke, powder, powder your nose, dust, powder keg, instant coffee, powdered, be sitting on a powder keg, settle the argument with guns, powdered milk, washing powder, never set the world on fire, gunpowder, washing powder, baking powder, scouring powder, cleaning powder, smoke and mirrors, smokescreen, ground almonds, gold dust, snake oil, rice powder, gunpowder, smokeless powder, take flight, spread like wildfire, caster sugar, waste your powder and shot, powder trail. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word poudre

powder

nom féminin (substance très fine)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
- Tu as de la poudre blanche sur ton pantalon. - Ah, ça, c'est le pain que j'ai mangé tout à l'heure ; il y avait beaucoup de farine dessus.
- You have white powder on your pants. - Oh that, that's from the bread I ate earlier; there was a lot of flour on it.

powder

nom féminin (produit cosmétique)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Isabelle utilise une poudre de nuit pour entretenir la peau de son visage.
Isabelle uses a night powder to look after the skin on her face.

gunpowder

nom féminin (substance fine et explosive)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les galions utilisaient de la poudre à canon.
Galleons used gunpowder in their canons.

coke

nom féminin (argot (drogue) (informal, cocaine)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Il a l'air absent, il a dû sniffer de la poudre.
He seems out of it. He must have done some coke.

powder

verbe transitif (mettre une poudre sur la peau) (on skin)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
On poudre les fesses des bébés avec du talc.

powder your nose

verbe pronominal (couvrir son visage d'une poudre)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Elle est partie se poudrer aux toilettes.

dust

verbe transitif (littéraire (couvrir d'une matière poudreuse)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
La neige poudra la campagne en une nuit.
A light dusting of snow covered the countryside overnight.

powder keg

nom masculin (figuré (situation explosive) (figurative)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Dans cette situation Pierre est confronté à un vrai baril de poudre !

instant coffee

nom masculin (rare (café soluble)

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

powdered

locution adjectivale (sous forme de poudre)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")

be sitting on a powder keg

locution verbale (figuré (se trouver dans une situation explosive) (figurative)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Ces soldats de l'ONU sont assis sur un baril de poudre.

settle the argument with guns

locution verbale (utiliser des armes à feu)

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

powdered milk

nom masculin (lait déshydraté)

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

washing powder

nom féminin (lessive déshydratée)

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

never set the world on fire

locution verbale (familier, péjoratif (être bête) (informal, figurative)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
ⓘCette phrase n'est pas une traduction de la phrase originale. He's certainly no Einstein, that guy.

gunpowder

nom féminin (poudre pour munition)

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

washing powder

nom féminin (rare (lessive)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La poudre à laver est utilisée pour le lavage domestique ou industriel.

baking powder

nom féminin (Can (levure chimique) (cookery)

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

scouring powder, cleaning powder

nom féminin (produit pour laver)

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

smoke and mirrors, smokescreen

nom féminin (écran de fumée, illusion) (figurative)

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

ground almonds

nom féminin (amandes en poudre)

(plural noun: Noun always used in plural form--for example, "jeans," "scissors.")

gold dust

nom féminin (poussière d'or)

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

snake oil

nom féminin (poudre censée guérir) (figurative)

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

rice powder

nom féminin (riz en poudre)

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

gunpowder

nom féminin (arme : poudre détonante) (explosive)

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

smokeless powder

nom féminin (substance explosive) (US)

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

take flight

locution verbale (familier, un peu vieilli (s'enfuir)

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

spread like wildfire

(se diffuser très rapidement)

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

caster sugar

nom masculin (sucre en grains fins) (UK)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Il faut environ 150 grammes de sucre en poudre pour faire une tarte au citron.

waste your powder and shot

locution verbale (vieilli (agir vainement) (figurative, dated)

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

powder trail

nom féminin (traînée faite de poudre)

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

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of poudre 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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