Also means
to mark time, to stagnate
Usage Note
Piétiner comes from pied ('foot'). Literally it means to stamp or trample underfoot, but figuratively piétiner means to be stuck without progress — les négociations piétinent ('the negotiations are going nowhere'). The noun piétinement describes this stagnation.
Examples
"La foule a piétiné l'entrée du stade."
Natural Translation
The crowd trampled the stadium entrance.

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
6 min read