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pétrir

to knead

verb peh-TREER Rare
Food & Drink Cooking

Also means

to mould

Usage Note

Pétrir primarily means to knead dough for bread-making, a central verb in French boulangerie. Figuratively it means to shape or mould someone's character — pétri de défauts ('riddled with faults') is a fixed expression. The verb belongs to the second conjugation (-ir, like finir) and is fully regular. The noun pétrissage refers to the kneading process itself.

Examples

"Il pétrit la pâte pendant dix minutes."

Natural Translation

He kneads the dough for ten minutes.

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