river

to rivet

verb ree-VEH Rare

Also means

to pin down, nail (figurative)

Usage Note

River means to fasten with a rivet. The expression river son clou à quelqu'un means to shut someone up or put them firmly in their place — a very common idiom. Despite looking like the English word 'river', it has nothing to do with rivers (une rivière). Conjugates as a regular -er verb.

Examples

"Il a réussi à river son clou à son adversaire."

Natural Translation

He managed to put his opponent firmly in his place.

Literal Translation

He managed to rivet his nail to his opponent.

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

Faire in French: To Make, To Do, and More

Faire in French means more than make and do: master faire vs rendre, weather and sports idioms, the causative, and the mistakes English speakers make.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Avoir or Être? Picking the Right Past-Tense Helper

Use avoir for the passé composé unless the verb is reflexive or one of ~16 DR MRS VANDERTRAMP motion verbs, which take être and force agreement.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Passé Composé vs Imparfait: When to Use Each

Passé composé tells the story; imparfait paints the scene. Use this 2-second flowchart, trigger words, and paired examples to pick the right French tense.

June 3, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

En, Au, Aux: French Prepositions for Countries

Use en for feminine countries, au for masculine, aux for plural, and à for cities. Full French preposition rule for countries, with a lookup table and traps.

June 4, 2026 5 min read