marteau

hammer

noun mar-TOH Less Common

Also means

hammer (auction gavel), clapper (bell)

Usage Note

marteau follows the -eau plural: marteaux. Passer sous le marteau ('to go under the hammer') is the idiom for an item being auctioned. In informal French, être marteau means 'to be crazy/nuts' — an adjective use with no change of form. The verb marteler means 'to hammer' and also 'to pound out (a rhythm)'.

Examples

"Il plante un clou avec un marteau."

Natural Translation

He drives a nail with a hammer.

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