balayer

sweep

verb bah-leh-YEH Less Common

Origin: Old French balai (broom)

Usage Note

Balayer is an -ayer verb and has a spelling variant in conjugation: je balaie or je balaye are both accepted. It is used literally for sweeping a floor (balayer le sol) and figuratively for sweeping away obstacles or scanning a view (balayer du regard, 'to sweep one's gaze'). The noun balai means 'broom'.

Examples

"Elle balaie le sol de la cuisine."

Natural Translation

She sweeps the kitchen floor.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

Telling Time in French: Hours, Quarters, 24-Hour

Telling time in French means Il est cinq heures, et quart, et demie, and the 24-hour clock like quatorze heures trente. Read any French schedule.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Café Culture: How to Order Like a Local

In a French café, un café means espresso, one drink rents the table for an hour, and you must ask for the bill. Order coffee like a local with these phrases.

June 4, 2026 7 min read

FrenchNow

En, Au, Aux: French Prepositions for Countries

Use en for feminine countries, au for masculine, aux for plural, and à for cities. Full French preposition rule for countries, with a lookup table and traps.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Le, La, Un, Du: French Articles Made Simple

Le, la, un, du, des made simple: pick the French article family by meaning, the form by gender, and dodge the two mistakes English speakers always make.

June 4, 2026 5 min read