mot-clé

\mo.kle\

/\mo.kle\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Mot ayant une plus grande importance que d’autres.

Corpus desk

Index FR-mot-cle · mot-clé · French

mot-clé · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 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 mot-clé
PropertyValue
Headwordmot-clé
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\mo.kle\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « mot-clé » en français

mot-clésiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

mot-clé is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \mo.kle\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mot-clé, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is mot-clé, spelled M-O-T---C-L-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mot ayant une plus grande importance que d’autres.
  2. 2
    Mot réservé qui ne peut être choisi pour le nom d’une variable constante, fonction ou autre création particulière au programme en cours.
  3. 3
    Mot réservé qui ne peut être choisi pour le nom d’une variable constante, fonction ou autre création particulière au programme en cours.
  4. 4
    Mot réservé qui ne peut être choisi pour le nom d’une variable constante, fonction ou autre création particulière au programme en cours.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le mot-clé return interrompt l’exécution d’une fonction.
  2. L'éloge des nouvelles liaisons nodales, qu'entonnent imperturbablement Deleuze et Guattari, mettait des mots-clés à disposition de l’innovationnisme d'une industrie de la consultation agissant à l'échelle mondiale, mots qui tournent depuis autour de notions creuses comme « créativité », « invention », « excellence » et « incentive ».

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 "mot-clé"?
"mot-clé" is spelled M-O-T---C-L-É. The IPA pronunciation is \mo.kle\.
What does "mot-clé" mean?
As a noun, "mot-clé" means: Mot ayant une plus grande importance que d’autres.
How do you pronounce "mot-clé"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mot-clé" is \mo.kle\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mot-clé" come from?
"mot-clé" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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