French Conversation · Level 26
89 words
French word
arrêter
Pronunciation
IPA/aʁete/
Meaning
- verbstop
Example
Peux-tu arrêter la musique ?
Can you stop the music?
More examples
Il a décidé d'arrêter de boire.
He decided to stop drinking.
Core concept
A moving process reaches a clear stop point under someone's control, like music going silent or a habit being dropped.
Common phrases
arrêter de
stop doing ___
arrêter une activité
stop an activity
se faire arrêter
get arrested
Similar words
stopper: To suddenly halt an object's movement or a sound.
cesser: To bring an ongoing activity or state to an end.
interrompre: To pause work, conversation, or another activity before it is finished.
abandonner: To give up something that has been pursued or maintained.
Definition in French
Cesser volontairement une action ou une habitude, souvent employé avec «arrêter de + infinitif».
Word origin
Old French arester developed from Latin arrestare, which combines ad- with restare, a verb connected with remaining or standing still.
Usage tips
- The reflexive 's'arrêter' usually presents a person or moving thing as coming to a stop, unlike 'arrêter', which presents someone as stopping something else.