au large

\o laʁʒ\

/\o laʁʒ\/ adv

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - En établissant plus spacieusement.

Corpus desk

Index FR-au-large · au large · French

au large · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" 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 au large
PropertyValue
Headwordau large
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\o laʁʒ\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « au large » en français

au largereste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

au large is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \o laʁʒ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

au large has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is au large, spelled A-U- -L-A-R-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    En établissant plus spacieusement.
  2. 2
    Dans un état plus commode, plus opulent.
  3. 3
    La haute mer, par opposition à la côte. En haute mer, en se référant au point de la côte le plus rapproché.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Je suis au large dans ce fauteuil.
  2. Vous êtes trop pressé, trop serré, mettez-vous un peu au large.

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 "au large"?
"au large" is spelled A-U- -L-A-R-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is \o laʁʒ\.
What does "au large" mean?
As an adverb, "au large" means: En établissant plus spacieusement.
How do you pronounce "au large"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "au large" is \o laʁʒ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "au large" come from?
"au large" 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