French word

balayer

Pronunciation

IPA/baleje/

Meaning

  • verbsweep

Example

Je balaye le sol tous les jours.

I sweep the floor every day.

Illustration for balayer (sweep)

More examples

Il a balayé la pièce du regard.

He scanned the room with his eyes.

Core concept

A broom pushes a layer of dirt onward in one broad motion, a pattern extended to sweeping something away or scanning across a scene.

Common phrases

  • balayer le sol

    sweep the floor

  • balayer du regard

    scan with one's eyes

  • balayer la poussière

    sweep away the dust

Similar words

nettoyer: To make something clean by removing dirt.
aspirer: To suck up dirt and dust with a machine.
ramasser: To collect things lying on the ground by hand or with a tool.

Definition in French

Enlever la saleté ou la poussière d'une surface en la poussant, le plus souvent avec un balai; s'emploie aussi au sens figuré pour faire disparaître quelque chose ou pour parcourir du regard.

Word origin

Balayer developed from balai, "broom," by adding the common French verb-forming ending -er.

Usage tips

  • In the present tense, balayer has spelling variants such as je balaie and je balaye, while nous balayons keeps the y.

Other meanings

  • sweep awayverb
  • scanverb

Opposites

Related words

  • balayagesweepingnoun
  • balayeurcleanernoun
  • balayésweptadjective

Word lists with this word