autour de

\o.tuʁ də\

/\o.tuʁ də\/ prep

The verdict

“autour de” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a preposition. 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) - Qui sert à désigner les êtres ou les choses qui sont environnés par d’autres.

Corpus desk

Index FR-autour-de · autour de · French

autour de · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 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 autour de
PropertyValue
Headwordautour de
LanguageFrench
Part of speechPreposition
IPA\o.tuʁ də\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « autour de » en français

autour dereste 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

autour de is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as apreposition, transcribed \o.tuʁ də\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

autour de has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

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 autour de, spelled A-U-T-O-U-R- -D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui sert à désigner les êtres ou les choses qui sont environnés par d’autres.
  2. 2
    Indique aussi le mouvement ou la situation des personnes ou des choses qui environnent.
  3. 3
    Auprès, marque une idée d’attachement, d’assiduité.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Tout le monde s’empresse autour du malade.
  2. Il a un bandeau autour de la tête.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "autour de"?
"autour de" is spelled A-U-T-O-U-R- -D-E. The IPA pronunciation is \o.tuʁ də\.
What does "autour de" mean?
As a preposition, "autour de" means: Qui sert à désigner les êtres ou les choses qui sont environnés par d’autres.
How do you pronounce "autour de"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "autour de" is \o.tuʁ də\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "autour de" come from?
"autour de" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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