French word

bazar

Pronunciation

IPA/bazaʁ/

Meaning

  • masculine nounmess

Example

Quel bazar !

What a mess!

Illustration for bazar (mess)

Core concept

A market-like jumble of unrelated things, either gathered for sale or left in disorder.

Definition in French

Grand désordre ou confusion, utilisé familièrement pour une pièce, une situation ou des idées en pagaille ; peut aussi désigner un magasin ou un étal vendant des objets variés.

Word origin

Bazar is a borrowing ultimately from Persian bāzār, whose original meaning was market; French later extended it to mean disorder or confusion.

Usage tips

  • The common phrase mettre le bazar means to cause disorder, while foutre le bazar is markedly vulgar.

Other meanings

  • bazaarnoun
  • market stallnoun

Word lists with this word