French word

sillonner

Pronunciation

IPA/sijone/

Meaning

  • verbtravel around

Example

Elle sillonne le pays pour son travail.

She travels around the country for work.

Illustration for sillonner (travel around)

More examples

Le livreur a sillonné la ville toute la journée.

The delivery driver crisscrossed the city all day.

Core concept

A traveler tracing furrow-like routes across an entire landscape.

Common phrases

  • sillonner la ville

    crisscross the city

  • sillonner les rues

    crisscross the streets

  • sillonner le quartier

    crisscross the neighborhood

Similar words

parcourir: To travel the full length or extent of a distance or area.
arpenter: To walk extensively back and forth across a large place.
circuler: To move along roads or through spaces while traveling from place to place.
visiter: To go to a place or building and explore its interior.

Definition in French

Traverser ou arpenter plusieurs lieux d'un même espace en multipliant les passages et les déplacements.

Word origin

French sillonner is formed from sillon, "furrow," from Latin sulcus, extending the idea of cutting a line through soil to moving repeatedly across a place.

Usage tips

  • Sillonner takes a direct object, so phrases such as sillonner le pays and sillonner les rues use no preposition before the area traveled.

Other meanings

  • patrolverb

Opposites

  • resterstayverb
  • s'installersettle downverb

Word lists with this word