French Conversation · Level 179
15 words
French word
cambrioler
Pronunciation
IPA/kɑ̃bʁijole/
Meaning
- verbbreak into
Example
La nuit dernière, quelqu'un a cambriolé la maison voisine.
Last night, someone broke into the neighboring house.
More examples
Il a avoué avoir cambriolé plusieurs maisons dans le quartier.
He admitted to having burglarized several houses in the neighborhood.
Core concept
A burglar breaking into a home and taking its valuables.
Common phrases
se faire cambrioler
be burglarized
cambrioler une maison
burglarize a house
cambrioler un appartement
burglarize an apartment
Similar words
voler: To take something that belongs to someone else without permission.
s'introduire: To enter a property or building without permission.
Definition in French
Entrer illégalement dans un logement pour en dérober des biens.
Word origin
Cambrioler is attested in nineteenth-century French and forms cambriolage and cambrioleur with -age and -eur; its deeper origin is uncertain.
Usage tips
- Cambrioler takes the burgled place as a direct object, as in cambrioler une maison, while se faire cambrioler means to have a home burgled.
Other meanings
- burgleverb
Related words
- cambrioleurburglarnoun
- cambriolageburglarynoun
- cambrioléburglarizedadjective