éventer la mèche
\e.vɑ̃.te la mɛʃ\
The verdict
“éventer la mèche” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Découvrir, au moyen d’une contre-mine, l’endroit où une mine a été installée et retirer la mèche qui devait l’activer.
Corpus desk
Index FR-eventer-la-meche · éventer la mèche · French
éventer la mèche · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 16 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "É" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | éventer la mèche |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \e.vɑ̃.te la mɛʃ\ |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « éventer la mèche » en français
Rare enough to double-check
éventer la mèche is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \e.vɑ̃.te la mɛʃ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for éventer la mèche in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
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 éventer la mèche, spelled É-V-E-N-T-E-R- -L-A- -M-È-C-H-E.
Definition
- 1Découvrir, au moyen d’une contre-mine, l’endroit où une mine a été installée et retirer la mèche qui devait l’activer.
- 2Découvrir le secret d’un complot, d’un arrangement, d’un dessein qui ne devait pas être divulgué.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how éventer la mèche appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Découvrir, éventer la mèche, découvrir au moyen d’une contremine l’endroit où une mine a été pratiquée, et enlever la mèche qui devait mettre le feu, et fig. découvrir le secret d’un complot, d’une affaire (vendre la mèche est une locution populaire vicieuse).
Il fallait tenir l’œil ouvert sur ce croisé naïf qui, par ses maladresses, pourrait bien éventer la mèche…
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.