Skip to content

borner

limit, restrict

verb bor-NEH Rare

Origin: from borne 'boundary marker'

Also means

mark with boundary stones

Usage Note

Borner means to set limits or confines; se borner à means 'to limit oneself to' doing something and is the most common use in everyday speech (je me borne à constater — 'I merely note'). The related noun borne (boundary stone, milestone) is also widely used for distance markers on roads.

Examples

"Il se borne à répéter la même question."

Natural Translation

He merely keeps repeating the same question.

Literal Translation

He limits himself to repeating the same question.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

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

Explore French by topic