French word

flamber

Pronunciation

IPA/flɑ̃be/

Meaning

  • verbburn

Example

Le bois flambe dans la cheminée.

The wood is burning in the fireplace.

Illustration for flamber (burn)

More examples

Le chef flambe la crêpe devant les clients.

The chef flambés the crepe in front of the customers.

Core concept

A flame suddenly surges upward, a pattern extended to anything that rises sharply in intensity.

Common phrases

  • le bois flambe

    The wood is burning

  • flamber une crêpe

    flambé a crepe

  • la maison flambe

    The house is burning

Similar words

brûler: To burn from exposure to fire or heat.
prendre feu: To catch fire and begin burning suddenly.
s'enflammer: To suddenly begin burning fiercely.

Definition in French

Prendre feu avec intensité ; utilisé tant au sens propre pour décrire la combustion qu'au sens figuré pour signifier une montée brutale, par exemple des prix ou d'une émotion.

Word origin

French flamber developed from Old French and ultimately Latin flammare, formed from flamma meaning flame.

Usage tips

  • In the figurative phrase les prix flambent, flamber is intransitive, so no direct object follows the verb.

Other meanings

  • blazeverb
  • flambeverb
  • soarverb

Opposites

Related words

  • flambéflambéadjective
  • flambéeflare-upnoun
  • flamboyerblazeverb

Word lists with this word