French word

tas

Pronunciation

IPA/ta/

Meaning

  • masculine nouna lot

Example

J'ai reçu un tas de messages aujourd'hui.

I received a lot of messages today.

Illustration for tas (a lot)

More examples

Elle a mis un tas de livres sur l'étagère.

She put a lot of books on the shelf.

Core concept

A heap of objects forms a visible mass, suggesting both a physical pile and a large amount.

Common phrases

  • un tas de

    a lot of

  • un tas de boulot

    a lot of work

  • un tas de choses

    a lot of things

Similar words

quantité: The amount or number of something, especially when it is large.
tonne: A huge amount of something, stated informally for emphasis.
pile: A stack of objects piled on top of one another.
masse: A large mass or group of things gathered together.

Definition in French

Désigne une grande quantité ou une pile d'objets, souvent employé dans la locution « un tas de X » pour signifier « beaucoup de X ».

Word origin

Old French tas already referred to a heap or pile; its deeper origin is uncertain, and colloquial French later extended it to mean a large quantity.

Usage tips

  • In quantity use, un tas de is familiar and conversational, while formal prose often uses beaucoup de or une grande quantite de.

Other meanings

  • heapnoun

Opposites

  • une poignéea handfulnoun

Related words

  • entasserpile upverb
  • tasserpack downverb
  • entassementpiling upnoun

Word lists with this word