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9,747 words — headwords with part of speech, pronunciation, and a plain-language definition.

prendre la vie du bon côté
verb
to look on the bright side
prendre la volée
verb
to take flight, to leave suddenly and unexpectedly, to fly the coop
prendre langue
verb
to make inquiries, to learn about the situation, to become acquainted with the situation
prendre le chemin
verb
to head towards, take the road for; to do whatever necessary to achieve a goal, head for, go down the road
prendre le chou
verb
to pester; to lose one's rag, to lose one's temper, to argue; to argue, to quarrel; to get worked up (over), to let (something) get to one, to tie oneself in knots (with)
prendre le dessus
verb
to get the upper hand, to gain the upper hand
prendre le large
verb
to slip away, to do a bunk, to take flight
prendre le maquis
verb
to go underground
prendre le melon
verb
to get a big head, to become big-headed
prendre le mors aux dents
verb
to champ at the bit; to get the bit between one's teeth
prendre le pas
verb
to move in front (of), to precede; to take precedence (over), to trump in significance
prendre le pli
verb
to get into the groove; to get used to, to get into the habit of
prendre le pouls
verb
to take someone's pulse, to measure the pulse of someone; to sound out, to gauge
prendre le pouvoir
verb
to take power, to seize power
prendre le relais
verb
to take over, to handle it from here, to take it from here, to pick up the slack
prendre le soleil
verb
to sunbathe
prendre le taureau par les cornes
verb
to take the bull by the horns, to grasp the nettle
prendre le train en marche
verb
to jump on the bandwagon
prendre le vent
verb
to catch the wind; to see which way the wind is blowing, to put one's finger to the wind, to sound out, to gauge, to put out feelers
prendre le voile
verb
to take the veil
prendre le volant
verb
to take the wheel (to take control of the steering wheel of a vehicle)
prendre les armes
verb
to take up arms
prendre les choses comme elles viennent
verb
to take things as they come, to take the rough with the smooth
prendre les commandes
verb
to take the controls, to take the helm, to take the reins
prendre les devants
verb
to initiate action, to take the initiative, to make the first move
prendre les paris
verb
to take bets, to act as a bookmaker; to hazard a guess
prendre les présences
verb
to take attendance
prendre les rênes
verb
to take the helm, to take the reins
prendre livraison
verb
to take delivery
prendre mal
verb
to take badly, to take offence at, to take the wrong way; to catch cold
prendre mesure
verb
To take measurements
prendre naissance
verb
to originate, to emerge (somewhere)
prendre note
verb
to take notice of, to take heed of, to note; to jot down, to note down, to write down
prendre occasion
verb
to take advantage
prendre ombrage
verb
to get worried and offended out of jealousy
prendre par la main
verb
to lead by the hand
prendre par les sentiments
verb
to sweet talk someone, to appeal to someone's soft side, to try to convince someone by targeting their soft spot
prendre par surprise
verb
to take (someone) off-guard
prendre part
verb
to take part, to participate
prendre parti
verb
to take sides, take a side
prendre peur
verb
to take fright
prendre pied
verb
to gain a foothold, to gain one's footing
prendre pitié
verb
to take pity
prendre place
verb
to take a seat, to have a seat, to sit down, to sit
prendre plaisir
verb
to enjoy, to take pleasure in
prendre position
verb
to take position, to assume position; to take a stand, to make a stand
prendre possession
verb
to take possession; to take control
prendre pour acquis
verb
to take for granted
prendre pour argent comptant
verb
to take at face value
prendre pour cible
verb
to aim at, to target; to pick on, to pester
prendre pour femme
verb
to marry (a woman)
prendre pour mari
verb
to marry (a man)
prendre pour un jambon
verb
to ridicule, to make mock of
prendre prétexte
verb
to give as a pretext, to give as an excuse
prendre racine
verb
to take root, to put down roots; to take hold, to take root, to put down roots
prendre sa plume
verb
to take up one's pen, to write a letter
prendre sa retraite
verb
to retire (stop working)
prendre sa revanche
verb
to get one's revenge, to get one's own back; to settle the score, to even the score, to get even
prendre sa routine à volonté
phrase
to be dismissed
prendre sa source
verb
to rise, to have its source (somewhere); to emerge, to begin, to start, to originate