Skip to content

piler

to crush

verb pee-LEH Rare

Also means

to brake sharply

Usage Note

Piler has two main everyday senses: to pound/crush ingredients (as with a mortar) and, in informal driving language, to slam on the brakes (piler net). In cooking, piler de l'ail means to crush garlic. The noun pilon (pestle or chicken drumstick) comes from the same root.

Examples

"Elle pile les épices dans un mortier."

Natural Translation

She crushes the spices in a mortar.

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