colle
French, noun
colle is spelled C-O-L-L-E (5 letters) and appears 16 times per million words in written French, the 4,565th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Colle is a French feminine noun meaning “glue” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of coller. With an accent, collé is a different word: “past participle of coller”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Matière adhérente qui permet de faire tenir l’un contre l’autre deux objets”.
What does colle mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineglue
- 2
feminineoral examination at a prépa or during the PASS
- 3
feminineconundrum, stumper (difficult question)
poser une colle
- 4
femininedetention
verb
- 1
first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- 2
second-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
past participle of coller
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Matière adhérente qui permet de faire tenir l’un contre l’autre deux objets. 2. Examen oral en école préparatoire → voir khôlle. 3. Question difficile, question dont on connaît la réponse pour tester les connaissances de quelqu’un. 4. Retenue, punition au collège ou en lycée qui consiste à retenir l'élève après la fin des horaires de cours normaux, le jour même ou un autre jour.
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 colle
- colles plural
- collée feminine
- collés masculine plural
- collées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to colle
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is colle in French?
colle appears 16 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).