mettre bas

\mɛtʁ ba\

/\mɛtʁ ba\/ verb

The verdict

“mettre bas” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Accoucher, en parlant d’un animal, plus particulièrement d’un mammifère.

Corpus desk

Index FR-mettre-bas · mettre bas · French

mettre bas · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "M" 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 mettre bas
PropertyValue
Headwordmettre bas
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\mɛtʁ ba\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « mettre bas » en français

mettre basn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mettre bas is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \mɛtʁ ba\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for mettre bas, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is mettre bas, spelled M-E-T-T-R-E- -B-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Accoucher, en parlant d’un animal, plus particulièrement d’un mammifère.
  2. 2
    Diminuer ; abaisser ; arrêter.
  3. 3
    Perdre ses bois, en parlant d’un cerf.
  4. 4
    Mettre ses bas.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sa chienne, Zola, avait mis bas la veille. Trois petites boules de poils, blanches comme la neige.
  2. Ils avaient brisé les portes à coups de crosse et les Bavarois, surpris par la brusquerie de l'attaque, avaient mis bas les armes ou s'étaient sauvés.

Synonyms

faire ses petits

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 "mettre bas"?
"mettre bas" is spelled M-E-T-T-R-E- -B-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is \mɛtʁ ba\.
What does "mettre bas" mean?
As a verb, "mettre bas" means: Accoucher, en parlant d’un animal, plus particulièrement d’un mammifère.
How do you pronounce "mettre bas"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mettre bas" is \mɛtʁ ba\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mettre bas" come from?
"mettre bas" 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