chicane
French, noun
chicane is spelled C-H-I-C-A-N-E (7 letters) and appears 1.1 times per million words in written French, the 29,273rd most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Chicane is a French feminine noun meaning “Chicane (obstruction designed to reduce speed), double road bend” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of chicaner. With an accent, chicané is a different word: “past participle of chicaner”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Procès”.
What does chicane mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineChicane (obstruction designed to reduce speed), double road bend
- 2
femininebickering, quibbling, especially as delay tactic
verb
- 1
first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- 2
second-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
past participle of chicaner
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Procès. 2. Abus que font certaines personnes des ressources et des formalités de la procédure. 3. Toute objection sophistique ou trop subtile, toute contestation mal fondée, en quelle que matière que ce soit. 4. Querelle, surtout entre enfants.
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 chicane
- chicanes plural
- chicanée feminine
- chicanés masculine plural
- chicanées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to chicane
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is chicane in French?
chicane appears 1.1 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).