se retrancher
\sə ʁə.tʁɑ̃.ʃe\
The verdict
“se retrancher” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Se mettre dans une position de défense.
Corpus desk
Index FR-se-retrancher · se retrancher · French
se retrancher · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" 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 | se retrancher |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \sə ʁə.tʁɑ̃.ʃe\ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « se retrancher » en français
Rare enough to double-check
se retrancher is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \sə ʁə.tʁɑ̃.ʃe\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for se retrancher in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is se retrancher, spelled S-E- -R-E-T-R-A-N-C-H-E-R.
Definition
- 1Se mettre dans une position de défense.
- 2Se restreindre, se réduire.
- 3Faire des économies.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how se retrancher appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
C'est à Rambervillers que Charles IV, duc de Lorraine, se retrancha en 1635, et arrêta l'armée française commandée par le maréchal de la Force.
Il revit son entrée dans Paris, … sa réception chez le maréchal d'Ancre, l'entrée silencieuse des spadassins, la bataille enragée, la fuite éperdue dans un escalier puis dans un couloir au fond duquel il s'était retranché derrière une porte fermée à clef.
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.