à bas
\a ba\
The verdict
“à bas” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Se dit de personnes et de choses qui tombent, qu’on renverse, qu’on abat.
Corpus desk
Index FR-a-bas · à bas · French
à bas · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "À" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | à bas |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \a ba\ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Où “à bas” se place dans la fréquence du français
Rare enough to double-check
à bas is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a ba\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for à bas, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is à bas, spelled À- -B-A-S.
Definition
- 1Se dit de personnes et de choses qui tombent, qu’on renverse, qu’on abat.
- 2Par ellipse et d’une manière impérative, pour « descendez de là ».
- 3Pour exprimer l’improbation d’un ennemi.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how à bas appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Cette maison n’est bonne qu’à mettre à bas.
Quelquefois, quand leur tablier de cuir est à bas, le vent entr’ouvre leur chemise toute grande, et en dessous du triangle de hâle qui fait pointe au creux de l’estomac, on voit de la chair blanche, tendre comme un dos de brebis tondue ou de cochon jeune.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.