terrer

\te.ʁe\

/\te.ʁe\/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“terrer” is uncommon French (frequency #72,788 among 164,488 “T” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,788
frequency rank, French
164,488
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Entourer, garnir, couvrir de terre.

Key facts for terrer
PropertyValue
Headwordterrer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\te.ʁe\
Letters6
Frequency rank#72,788
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “terrer” 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). terrer lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

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

Rare enough to double-check

terrer is uncommon French at frequency #72,788 among 164,488 “T” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \te.ʁe\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for terrer, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is terrer, spelled T-E-R-R-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Entourer, garnir, couvrir de terre.
  2. 2
    Dégraisser une étoffe, en l’enduisant de terre à foulon.
  3. 3
    Blanchir en couvrant d’une terre grasse le fond des formes, en parlant du sucre.
  4. 4
    Se loger, se cacher sous terre, en parlant des animaux.
  5. 5
    Se cacher sous terre, en parlant de certains animaux.
  6. 6
    Se mettre à couvert du feu de l’ennemi par des travaux de terre.
  7. 7
    Se cacher, éviter de se montrer.
  8. 8
    Enterrer.
  9. 9
    Guillotiner.

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 "terrer"?
"terrer" is spelled T-E-R-R-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \te.ʁe\.
What does "terrer" mean?
As a verb, "terrer" means: Entourer, garnir, couvrir de terre.
How do you pronounce "terrer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "terrer" is \te.ʁe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "terrer" come from?
"terrer" 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.

Using “terrer”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-E-R-R-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \te.ʁe\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list