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grue

crane

noun GROO Rare
Travel & Places Landmarks

Also means

crane (bird)

Usage Note

Grue covers both the tall construction machine and the long-necked bird. Context almost always disambiguates the two. In informal French, faire le pied de grue ('to stand like a crane's foot') means to stand around waiting for a long time.

Examples

"La grue soulève les lourdes poutrelles."

Natural Translation

The crane lifts the heavy beams.

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