à l’écart

\a le.kaʁ\

/\a le.kaʁ\/ adv

The verdict

“à l’écart” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - À une certaine distance.

Corpus desk

Index FR-a-l-ecart · à l’écart · French

à l’écart · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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.

Key facts for à l’écart
PropertyValue
Headwordà l’écart
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\a le.kaʁ\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « à l’écart » en français

à l’écartn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

à l’écart is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a le.kaʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for à l’écart in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is à l’écart, spelled À- -L-’-É-C-A-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    À une certaine distance.
  2. 2
    Légèrement isolé.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how à l’écart appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Et moi, pèlerin agenouillé à l’écart sous les orgues, il me semblait ouïr les anges descendre du ciel mélodieusement.
  2. Une autre voiture à deux roues, […], était là aussi un peu à l’écart. Cette voiture était destinée, […], à recevoir le corps après le supplice et à le porter au cimetière.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "à l’écart"?
"à l’écart" is spelled À- -L-’-É-C-A-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is \a le.kaʁ\.
What does "à l’écart" mean?
As an adverb, "à l’écart" means: À une certaine distance.
How do you pronounce "à l’écart"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à l’écart" is \a le.kaʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à l’écart" come from?
"à l’écart" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list