abattre

knock down

verb ah-BAH-tr Less Common

Also means

shoot down

Usage Note

Abattre covers cutting down a tree (abattre un arbre), shooting down a plane or animal, and demolishing a wall. Reflexively, s'abattre sur means to fall upon or crash into something (often a storm or misfortune). The noun l'abattoir (slaughterhouse) comes from the same root and is used in English too.

Examples

"Les bûcherons ont abattu un grand chêne."

Natural Translation

The woodcutters felled a large oak tree.

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