French word

caniveau

Pronunciation

IPA/kanivo/

Meaning

  • masculine noungutter

Example

Fais attention au caniveau quand tu marches.

Watch out for the gutter when you're walking.

Illustration for caniveau (gutter)

More examples

Le cycliste a failli glisser dans le caniveau.

The cyclist nearly slipped into the gutter.

Core concept

A sunken strip beside the roadway guides water away from the pavement and may be covered for safety.

Common phrases

  • glisser dans le caniveau

    slip into the gutter

  • au bord du caniveau

    at the edge of the gutter

Similar words

égout: Underground pipes and related infrastructure that carry urban wastewater and rainwater.
bouche d'égout: A metal-grated or covered opening in the street leading into a sewer.
rigole: A shallow channel dug into the ground to carry runoff.

Definition in French

caniveau — ouverture ou rigole creusée le long d'une chaussée pour évacuer l'eau, souvent bordée d'une grille ou d'un platelage.

Word origin

Caniveau developed through Old French from a form related to canal, ultimately deriving from Latin canalis, meaning a channel or pipe.

Usage tips

  • In Fais attention au caniveau, au is the contraction of à and le, not a separate preposition.

Word lists with this word