aplomb
French, noun/a.plɔ̃/
aplomb is spelled A-P-L-O-M-B (6 letters) and appears 1.9 times per million words in written French, the 21,568th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Aplomb is a French masculine noun meaning “vertical line, as measured with a plumb line” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Ligne perpendiculaire au plan de l’horizon indiquée par le fil à plomb”.
What does aplomb mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculinevertical line, as measured with a plumb line
Bien prendre l’aplomb.
- 2
masculinestability, equilibrium, uprightness, plumb
Ce mur tient bien son aplomb, a perdu son aplomb.
- 3
masculineaplomb, self-confidence
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Ligne perpendiculaire au plan de l’horizon indiquée par le fil à plomb. 2. Équilibre, stabilité d’un corps solide résultant de l’utilisation du fil à plomb. 3. Juste pondération des figures. 4. Équilibre des parties du corps.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of aplomb
- aplombs plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce aplomb?
- /a.plɔ̃/
- \a.plɔ̃\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to aplomb
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is aplomb in French?
aplomb appears 1.9 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).