mettre

Name: mettre, French Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

\mɛtʁ\

/\mɛtʁ\/ verb

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“mettre” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #227 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#227
frequency rank, French: 6
letters: 7
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Placer une personne, ou un animal, ou une chose dans un lieu déterminé.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mettre vs meute

67% similar

mettre vs Motte

50% similar

mettre vs meure

67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mettre
Property	Value
Headword	mettre
Language	French
Part of speech	Verb
IPA	\mɛtʁ\
Letters	6
Frequency rank	#227
Misspellings tracked	7
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mettre” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). mettre lands here:

#227

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for mettre is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \mɛtʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #227 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 20 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for mettre, with forms such as "emttre", "metre", and "metrte". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "meute", "Motte", "meure", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is mettre, spelled M-E-T-T-R-E.

Definition

1
Placer une personne, ou un animal, ou une chose dans un lieu déterminé.
2
Introduire un pénis lors d’un rapport sexuel.
3
Infliger quelque chose à quelqu’un.
4
Placer une personne, ou un animal, ou une chose dans une situation.
5
Revêtir, enfiler sur soi, en parlant de ce qui sert à l’habillement, à la parure.
6
Porter habituellement sur soi.
7
Accommoder, apprêter d’une certaine façon, en parlant des choses qui se mangent.
8
Placer ou employer d’une certaine manière, en parlant de l’argent qu’on possède.
9
Ensemencer, planter, employer d’une certaine manière, en parlant des terres.
10
Écrire sur le papier, dans un livre.
11
Faire passer d’un état à un autre, en parlant des personnes et des choses
12
Ajouter à quelque chose une partie qui y manque.
13
Action, pour un marchand, d’ajouter de la marchandise dans la partie destinée à un client.
14
Employer ses qualités et ses dispositions morales, les manifester dans ses actions, dans ses discours, dans ses ouvrages.
15
Miser.
16
Admettre, supposer.
17
À la forme simple, peut être auxiliaire de mode factitif et se construire avec un infinitif et une préposition pour signifier : faire consister, faire exister. Le sujet du verbe à l’infinitif peut être exprimé dans la phrase ou être absent de la phrase. De même, le complément d’objet du verbe à l’infinitif n’est pas toujours exprimé.
18
À la forme pronominale, peut être auxiliaire de mode inchoatif. Il est alors pronominal et suivi de la préposition à et d’un verbe à l’infinitif. Il signifie : commencer.
19
Temps nécessaire.
20
Déposer quelqu’un, au terme d’un déplacement dans un véhicule.

Synonyms

placer poser

This word in other languages

put(English)poner(Español)setzen(Deutsch)pôr(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: emttre,metre,metrte,metter,mettrre,mmettre,mtetre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mettre - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "mettre"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mettre"?

"mettre" is spelled M-E-T-T-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \mɛtʁ\.

What does "mettre" mean?

As a verb, "mettre" means: Placer une personne, ou un animal, ou une chose dans un lieu déterminé.

What words are commonly confused with "mettre"?

"mettre" is commonly confused with "meute", "Motte", "meure". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "mettre"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mettre" is \mɛtʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "mettre" come from?

"mettre" 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.

Using “mettre”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct French spelling is M-E-T-T-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as \mɛtʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “meute” - see the side-by-side comparison. mettre vs meute
Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.