passer à tabac

\pa.se a ta.ba\

/\pa.se a ta.ba\/ verb

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Frapper quelqu’un avec violence, en donnant de nombreux coups.

Corpus desk

Index FR-passer-a-tabac · passer à tabac · French

passer à tabac · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" 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 passer à tabac
PropertyValue
Headwordpasser à tabac
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pa.se a ta.ba\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « passer à tabac » en français

passer à tabacsiège 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

passer à tabac is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \pa.se a ta.ba\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Frapper quelqu’un avec violence, en donnant de nombreux coups.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for passer à tabac, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is passer à tabac, spelled P-A-S-S-E-R- -À- -T-A-B-A-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Frapper quelqu’un avec violence, en donnant de nombreux coups.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le pauvre homme avait triste mine après qu’il a été passé à tabac.
  2. Vers le même temps, je fus passé à tabac par la police, assommé et aux trois quarts étranglé.

Synonyms

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 "passer à tabac"?
"passer à tabac" is spelled P-A-S-S-E-R- -À- -T-A-B-A-C. The IPA pronunciation is \pa.se a ta.ba\.
What does "passer à tabac" mean?
As a verb, "passer à tabac" means: Frapper quelqu’un avec violence, en donnant de nombreux coups.
How do you pronounce "passer à tabac"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "passer à tabac" is \pa.se a ta.ba\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "passer à tabac" come from?
"passer à tabac" 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list