atterrir
land, touch down
verb ah-teh-REER Less Common
Origin: à + terre (to + ground)
Usage Note
Atterrir is the standard verb for an aircraft landing (l'avion atterrit à Paris). Informally it also means to end up somewhere unexpectedly (j'ai atterri dans un quartier bizarre = I ended up in a strange neighbourhood). The opposite is décoller (to take off). The noun is l'atterrissage (landing).
Examples
"L'avion a atterri avec vingt minutes de retard."
Natural Translation
The plane landed twenty minutes late.
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