French word

virer

Pronunciation

IPA/viʁe/

Meaning

  • verbfire

Example

Le patron a viré son employé hier.

The boss fired his employee yesterday.

Illustration for virer (fire)

More examples

Il s'est fait virer après plusieurs retards.

He was fired after being late several times.

Core concept

A person is turned away from a job or a place.

Common phrases

  • virer quelqu'un

    fire someone

  • se faire virer

    get fired

Similar words

licencier: To terminate an employee's job for valid reasons or through due process.
renvoyer: To dismiss an employee and prevent them from continuing their work.

Definition in French

Signifie congédier quelqu'un, et par extension faire partir quelqu'un d'un lieu.

Word origin

Virer comes through Old French from Latin gyrare, meaning 'to turn', and its dismissal sense presents someone as turned away.

Usage tips

  • Virer quelqu'un is familiar, while congédier quelqu'un is more neutral or formal for dismissing an employee.

Other meanings

  • transferverb
  • turnverb
  • kick outverb

Opposites

Related words

  • viragebendnoun
  • viréeoutingnoun
  • viréfiredadjective

Word lists with this word