is tour a french word

French word of the week: tour

Welcome back to all of our French learners. Today we’re looking at the noun tour . While this word exists in English with the exact same spelling, it doesn’t quite sound the same – listen to the pronunciation in the audio clip below:

Now we’ll move on to the translation, but again, try not to compare it to the English word you already know. You might feel tempted to directly translate tour as ‘tour’ in English, and this can be one possible meaning (in the sense of ‘journey’) – for example, you might have heard of the Tour de France , the cycling race. But in French, as well as tour, this word can be translated turn , walk , ride , lap or tower . Something special about this noun is that it means different things depending on its gender .

• As a masculine noun, le/un tour can mean turn, ride, lap or tour, among other things.
• As a feminine noun, la/une tour can mean tower, tower block, or the castle piece in chess.

If you need some extra help, you can review our Easy Learning French Grammar pages on nouns .

We’ll start with examples of the feminine noun in action:

Notre hôtel était parfait ! Nous pouvions voir la Tour Eiffel de notre balcon. Our hotel was perfect! We were able to see the Eiffel Tower from our balcony.

Il y a plein de tours au quartier où elle habite à Hong Kong. There are lots of tower blocks in the area where she lives in Hong Kong.

monter en haut de la tour to climb to the top of the tower

Chaque joueur d’échecs a deux tours noires ou blanches. Each chess player has two black or white castles .

Now we’ll have a look at the masculine noun in everyday French. This version of the noun is a lot more common, as it often appears in set phrases:

faire le tour de quelque chose to go/walk around something

faire le tour du monde to go/travel around the world

Voudriez-vous faire un tour du lac ? Would you all like to go on a stroll around the lake?

C’est mon tour . It’s my turn .

à chacun son tour one at a time; everyone gets a turn

À qui le tour ? Whose turn is it?

faire demi- tour to do a U- turn

Les élections présidentielles se dérouleront sur deux tours avant les résultats. The presidential elections will unfold over two rounds before the results.

You might have noticed in the final example that tour has an ‘s’ on the end, making it tours . This is to make the word from a singular noun into a plural . However, if you see tours with a capital letter, Tours , then you might need to reconsider the translation. This is the name of a city in France, located in the Loire Valley.

That’s all we have for this week. Now it’s your turn to take what you’ve learned and build it into your French vocabulary. See you next time!

Written by Holly Tarbet , freelance copywriter and editor.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.

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The home of living language. #wotd #wordlovers #collinsdictionary Read our word of the week definitions and blog posts:

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• 1.1 Pronunciation
• 1.2.1.1 Hyponyms
• 1.2.1.2 Derived terms
• 1.2.1.3 Related terms
• 1.2.1.4 Translations
• 1.2.2.1 Translations
• 1.4.2 References
• 1.5 Anagrams
• 3.1 Etymology
• 3.2 Pronunciation
• 3.3.1 Synonyms
• 4.1 Pronunciation
• 4.2.1.1 Derived terms
• 4.2.1.2 Descendants
• 4.3.1.1 Derived terms
• 4.3.1.2 Descendants
• 4.4.1.1 Derived terms
• 4.5 See also
• 4.6 Further reading
• 4.7 Anagrams
• 5.1 Alternative forms
• 5.2 Etymology
• 5.3 Pronunciation
• 5.4.1 Descendants
• 5.4.2 References
• 6.1 Pronunciation
• 7.1 Pronunciation
• 7.3.1 Alternative forms
• 8.1 Etymology
• 8.2 Pronunciation
• 8.3.1 Derived terms
• 8.4 Further reading
• 9.1.1 Declension
• 9.2 References

English [ edit ]

Pronunciation [ edit ].

• IPA ( key ) : /tɔː(ɹ)/ , /tʊə(ɹ)/ , /tɝ/ , /tuːɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ) , -ʊə(ɹ)
• Homophone : tore ( pour-poor merger )

Etymology 1 [ edit ]

From Old French tour , tourn , from the verb torner , tourner .

Noun [ edit ]

tour ( plural tours )

• A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc. On our last holiday to Spain we took a tour of the wine-growing regions.
• A guided visit to a particular place, or virtual place. On the company's website, you can take a virtual tour of the headquarters.
• A journey through a given list of places, such as by an entertainer performing concerts . Metallica's tour of Europe
• ( sports , chiefly cricket and rugby ) A trip taken to another country in which several matches are played.
• ( sports , cycling ) A street and road race , frequently multiday.
• ( sports ) A set of competitions which make up a championship .
• 2022 September 21, Carly Olson, Dan Bilefsky, “Ten prisoners, including Americans, have been released as part of a Russia-Ukraine exchange, Saudi Arabia says.”, in The New York Times ‎ [1] , →ISSN : Among those released were two Americans who had been held captive for more than three months: Alex Drueke, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant who served two tours in Iraq, according to his aunt, Dianna Shaw; [ … ]
• ( graph theory ) A closed trail .
• 1667 , John Milton , “Book X”, in Paradise Lost.   [ … ] , London: [ … ] [ Samuel Simmons ],   [ … ] , →OCLC ; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books:   [ … ] , London: Basil Montagu Pickering   [ … ] , 1873 , →OCLC : The Bird of Jove, stoopt from his aerie tour ,
• 1712 , Richard Blackmore , Creation : It [blood] onward springs, and makes the wondrous tour
• ( snooker ) A circuit of snooker tournaments

Hyponyms [ edit ]

• guided tour
• tour de force
• tour d'horizon
• whirlwind tour

Derived terms [ edit ]

• abortion tour
• Cook's tour
• fifty-cent tour
• knight's tour
• mystery tour
• nickel tour
• package tour
• railtour , rail tour
• starlight tour
• ten-cent tour
• tour operator
• what happens on tour stays on tour
• whistlestop tour

Related terms [ edit ]

Translations [ edit ], verb [ edit ].

tour ( third-person singular simple present tours , present participle touring , simple past and past participle toured )

• ( intransitive ) To make a journey The Rolling Stones were still touring when they were in their seventies.
• ( transitive ) To make a circuit of a place The circuses have been touring Europe for the last few weeks.

Etymology 2 [ edit ]

Old French tor , French tour ( “ tower ” )

• ( dated ) A tower .

Etymology 3 [ edit ]

• ( obsolete ) To toot a horn .

References [ edit ]

• “ tour ”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary , Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam , 1913, →OCLC .

Anagrams [ edit ]

• rout , trou

Breton [ edit ]

• Hard mutation of dour .

Dutch [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ].

Borrowed from French tour .

tour   m ( plural tours , diminutive tourtje   n )

Synonyms [ edit ]

French [ edit ].

• IPA ( key ) : /tuʁ/
• Rhymes: -uʁ

Inherited from Old French tor , from Latin turrem , from Ancient Greek τύρρις ( túrrhis ) , τύρσις ( túrsis ) .

tour   f ( plural tours )

• tower La tour de Pise est penchée. ― The Tower of Pisa is leaning.
• ( chess ) rook
• apartment building
• tour de Babel
• tour de contrôle
• tour de forage
• tour de guet
• tour de siège
• tour d’ivoire
• tour Eiffel

See also [ edit ]

Further reading [ edit ].

• “ tour ”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [ Digitized Treasury of the French Language ] , 2012.
• “ tour ” in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse .

Middle English [ edit ]

Alternative forms [ edit ].

• thour , tor , tore , toure , towere , towour , tur

From Old English tūr , tor , torr , from Latin turris .

• IPA ( key ) : /tuːr/

tour ( plural toures )

• English: tower ( see there for further descendants )
• Scots: tour , towr
• Yola: toweare
• “ tǒur, n. (1) ”, in MED Online , Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan , 2007.

Portuguese [ edit ]

• ( Brazil ) IPA ( key ) : /ˈtuʁ/ [ˈtuh]
• ( São Paulo ) IPA ( key ) : /ˈtuɾ/
• ( Rio de Janeiro ) IPA ( key ) : /ˈtuʁ/ [ˈtuχ]
• ( Southern Brazil ) IPA ( key ) : /ˈtuɻ/
• ( Portugal ) IPA ( key ) : /ˈtuɾ/
• ( Southern Portugal ) IPA ( key ) : /ˈtu.ɾi/
• tour ( guided visit )
• tour ( journey through a given list of places )

Scots [ edit ]

• IPA ( key ) : /tur/

Spanish [ edit ]

• IPA ( key ) : /ˈtuɾ/ [ˈt̪uɾ]
• Rhymes: -uɾ
• tour , guided visit to a country, museum, etc. Synonyms: viaje , visita , excursión
• ( sports ) tour , a trip to another country to play matches
• ( music ) tour , a trip to other countries undertaken by a singer or musician Synonym: gira
• Tour de Francia
• “ tour ”, in Diccionario de la lengua española , Vigésima tercera edición , Real Academia Española, 2014

Swedish [ edit ]

tour   c

• ( sports ) a tour (chiefly in individual ball games)

Declension [ edit ]

• tour in Svensk ordbok ( SO )
• tour in Svenska Akademiens ordlista ( SAOL )
• tour in Svenska Akademiens ordbok ( SAOB )

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Translate tour from French to English

• tour ; journey ; trip ; excursion ; voyage ; expedition ; march ; hiking tour ; hike ; turn ; game ; round ; go ; passage ; drive ; feat ; trick ; walk ; promenade ; stroll ; outing ; short walk ; ramble ; tramp ; trail ; track ; path ; way ; stretch ; road ; distance ; avenue ; small circle ; reach ; lathe ; art ; dexterity ; agility ; adroitness ; ability ; skill ; knack ; prank ; tour of inspection ; making one's round ; circle ; ring ; sleight of hand ; gimmick ; rotation ; inversion ; dealing with ; revolution ; orbit ; shenanigan ; silly trick
• tower ; turret ; skyscraper ; tower block ; castle-tower
• tour → tower , castle , rook , turret , revolution , tour , rounds , trick , turn , round , pottery wheel , lathe , go , cycle , prank , rotation , sliver , trip
• tour → trick , turn , lathe , wood turning lathe , turning lathe , woodworking lathe , high-rise building , multistoried building , skyscraper , joke , tour , castle , rook , tower

Detailed Translations for tour from French to English

Tour [ le ~ ] noun, le tour ( virée ; excursion ; tournée ; petit tour ; balade ; circuit ; promenade ).

• tour [ the ~ ] noun
• journey [ the ~ ] noun
• trip [ the ~ ] noun
• excursion [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( voyage ; expédition ; randonnée ; excursion ; promenade )

• voyage [ the ~ ] noun
• expedition [ the ~ ] noun
• march [ the ~ ] noun
• hiking tour [ the ~ ] noun
• hike [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( jeu ; partie )

• turn [ the ~ ] noun
• game [ the ~ ] noun
• round [ the ~ ] noun
• go [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( ronde )

Le tour ( excursion ; sortie ; petit tour ).

• passage [ the ~ ] noun
• drive [ the ~ ] noun
• feat [ the ~ ] noun
• trick [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( promenade ; excursion à pied ; randonnée à pied ; balade ; randonnée ; trotte ; voyage à pied ; petit tour )

• walk [ the ~ ] noun
• promenade [ the ~ ] noun
• stroll [ the ~ ] noun
• outing [ the ~ ] noun
• short walk [ the ~ ] noun
• ramble [ the ~ ] noun
• tramp [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( trajet ; itinéraire ; parcours ; tournée ; route ; voie ; manche ; portion de route ; ronde )

• trail [ the ~ ] noun
• track [ the ~ ] noun
• path [ the ~ ] noun
• he said he was looking for the way out 1
• stretch [ the ~ ] noun
• road [ the ~ ] noun
• distance [ the ~ ] noun
• small circle [ the ~ ] noun
• reach [ the ~ ] noun
• avenue [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( touret )

• lathe [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( tour d'artifice ; art ; habileté ; savoir-faire ; dextérité ; adresse ; aptitude ; trucage )

• art [ the ~ ] noun
• dexterity [ the ~ ] noun
• agility [ the ~ ] noun
• adroitness [ the ~ ] noun
• ability [ the ~ ] noun
• skill [ the ~ ] noun
• knack [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( ruse ; subterfuge )

Le tour ( niche ; drôlerie ; ruse ).

• prank [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( tournée ; voyage ; virée ; ronde )

Le tour ( fait de faire sa ronde ; tournée ; ronde ).

• tour of inspection [ the ~ ] noun
• making one's round [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( cercle ; ronde )

• circle [ the ~ ] noun
• a ring of ships in the harbor 1

le tour ( prétexte ; truc ; savoir-faire ; tour de main ; adresse ; habileté )

• sleight of hand [ the ~ ] noun
• gimmick [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( rotation ; révolution ; inversion ; retournement ; renversement )

• rotation [ the ~ ] noun
• inversion [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( cercle )

• dealing with [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( révolution ; rotation )

• revolution [ the ~ ] noun
• orbit [ the ~ ] noun

le tour ( caprice ; coup ; bêtise ; coup de tête ; cabriole )

• shenanigan [ the ~ ] noun
• silly trick [ the ~ ] noun

tour [ la ~ ] noun

La tour ( tourelle ).

• tower [ the ~ ] noun
• turret [ the ~ ] noun

la tour ( gratte ciel ; building )

• skyscraper [ the ~ ] noun
• tower block [ the ~ ] noun

la tour ( donjon ; tour de forteresse ; tour du château )

• castle-tower [ the ~ ] noun

Translation Matrix for tour :

Synonyms for "tour":.

• alternance ; ordre ; flux ; rythme ; succession ; fréquence ; cadence ; période ; variation ; bascule ; beffroi ; campanile ; clocher ; jaquemart; belvédère ; mirador ; terrasse ; kiosque ; pavillon ; plate-forme ; berne; brimade; tromperie ; bord ; bordure ; côté ; rebord ; pourtour; banlieue ; périphérie; contour ; liseré ; orée ; limite ; rive ; côte ; circonférence ; rond ; cercle ; périmètre; enceinte ; circonvolution; circuit ; révolution ; giration ; coude ; sinuosité ; méandre; course ; périple; voyage ; expression ; locution; terme ; mot ; tournure ; formule ; euphémisme ; idiotisme ; trait ; pointe ; figure ; métaphore ; symbole ; orbite ; ellipse ; extérieur ; circumnavigation; tournée ; rotation ; roulement ; virevolte; pirouette ; conversion ; assolement

Wiktionary Translations for tour :

• tour → tower
• tour → castle ; rook
• tour → turret
• tour → revolution
• tour → tour
• tour → rounds
• tour → trick
• tour → turn ; round
• tour → pottery wheel
• tour → lathe
• lathe → tour
• go → tour
• cycle → tour
• prank → farce ; tour
• revolution → tour ; révolution
• revolution → révolution ; tour
• rook → tour
• rotation → tour
• round → tour
• sliver → tour ; gratte-ciel
• tower → tour
• trick → tour ; farce
• trick → tour
• trip → voyage ; balade ; tour
• turn → tour

Related Translations for tour

• à notre tour
• faire un tour
• faire le tour de
• faire le tour
• jouer un tour à
• procéder à un second tour de scrutin
• jouer un tour à qn
• faire demi-tour
• se donner un tour de reins
• faire un demi-tour
• tour de forage
• tour en vélo
• tour de force
• second tour de scrutin
• tour d'artifice
• quart de tour
• tour de lecture
• tour de magie
• tour de potier
• tour gigantesque
• tour en bateau
• tour de table
• tour de service
• tour de reins
• fait de visiter quelqu'un à son tour
• tour en tout-terrain
• tour d'observation
• tour de fourberie
• tour de contrôle
• tour de guet
• le tour par l'extérieur
• tour de prestidigitation
• tour de forteresse
• tour du château
• tour de cochon
• tour pendable
• tour de cou
• tour d'examination
• tour de révolver
• tour touristique
• tour de taille
• tour de main
• 1 WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University

French Expressions With Un Tour

Idiomatic French Expressions

• Pronunciation & Conversation
• Resources For Teachers

The French word tour has different meanings depending on whether it's masculine or feminine, and both words are found in idiomatic expressions. Learn how to say "acrobatics," to "play a trick on someone," "Bob's your uncle" and more with this list of expressions using  un tour . Using une tour, which is the feminine form of the word, you can learn how to say "drilling rig," "ivory tower," "as big as a house" and other idiomatic French expressions.

Possible Meanings of Un Tour

• contour, outline
• feat, stunt, trick
• measurement, girth
• (game) turn
• (situation or conversation) turn, twist
• (wheel) rotation, revolution, turn

Possible Meanings of  Une Tour

• siege tower
• high-rise building
• (chess) castle, rook

Expressions With Un Tour

un tour d'adresse =  skillful feat/trick les tours d'agilité =  acrobatics un tour de cartes =  card trick un tour de chauffe =  warm-up lap, practice run un tour pendable = a dirty trick un tour de chant =  song recital un tour de cochon (informal) = dirty/mean trick un tour de cou =  choker, collar neck measurement un tour de force =  feat of strength amazing feat le Tour de France =  tour de France (cycling competition) le tour de garde =  tour of duty le tour d'honneur (sports) = lap of honor le tour d'horizon =  review, survey (of a situation) un tour de lit =  valance le tour de main =  dexterity un tour de passe-passe =  conjouring trick un tour de passe-passe financier =  financial sleight-of-hand un tour de phrase =  turn of phrase un tour de piste =  lap un tour de reins =  strained back un tour de salaud (familiar) = nasty trick un tour de scrutin =  ballot un tour de table =  group discussion (finance) capital structure le tour de ville =  city tour un tour de vis =  turn of a screw un tour de vis fiscal =  tax squeeze un tour de vis militaire/politique =  military/political crackdown le premier/second tour (politics, sports) = the first/second round un quart de tour =  quarter turn un régime de ___ tours (minute)  = (motor, engine) ___ RPM (revolutions per minute) un sale tour = a  dirty/mean trick tour à tour =  in turn, by turns, alternately un 33 tours =  (record, album) LP un 45 tours =  (record, album) single un 78 tours =  (record, album) 78 acquérir un tour de main =  to pick up a knack attendre son tour =  to wait one's turn avoir plus d'un tour dans son sac =  to have more than one trick up one's sleeve avoir un tour de main =  to have a knack faire demi-tour (figurative) = to make a U-turn, do an about-face faire le tour de =  (place) to go around, look around, explore / (idea, possibility) to explore / (problem) to consider all angles faire le tour du cadran =  to go around the clock faire un demi-tour =  to do a U-turn, an about-turn faire un tour de chevaux de bois =  to ride a merry-go-round faire chacun à son tour =  to each do (something) in turn, to take turns faire un tour d'Europe, de France =  to tour Europe, France faire le tour des invités =  to do the rounds of the guests faire un tour de manège =  to ride a merry-go-round faire le tour du monde =  to go around the world faire un tour à pied =  to go for a walk faire un tour à quelqu'un =  to play a trick on someone faire des tours et des détours =  to meander, wind in and out, twist and turn fermer une porte à double tour =  to double-lock a door jouer un tour à quelqu'un =  to play a trick on someone parler à son tour =  to speak in turn parler chacun à son tour =  to each speak in turn passer son tour =  to miss one's turn perdre son tour =  to lose one's turn prendre son tour =  to take one's turn À qui le tour ? =  Whose turn is it? à tour de bras =  with all one's strength/might à tour de rôle =  in turn, alternately À ton / votre tour (de jouer) =  It's your turn C'est reparti pour un tour ! (informal) = Here we go again! C'est un tour à prendre. =  It's just a knack you pick up. C'est ton / votre tour =  It's your turn Chacun son tour ! =  Wait your turn! en un tour de main =  in no time at all / prolifically / with a vengeance Et le tour est joué ! =  And there you have it! And Bob's your uncle! Je lui réserve un tour à ma façon ! =  I'll get him back in my own way! On en a vite fait le tour =  (place) There's not much to see / (book, idea) There's not much to it / (person) There's not much to him/her Si on faisait le tour ? =  Shall we walk around it? Votre tour viendra =  Your turn will come

Expressions With   Une Tour

la tour de Babel =  tower of Babel la tour de contrôle  (aviation) = control tower la tour Eiffel =  Eiffel Tower la tour de forage =  drilling rig la tour de guet =  watch tower, look-out tower la tour hertzienne =  radio mast la tour de l'horloge =  clock tower la tour d'ivoire =  ivory tower la tour de Londres =  tower of London la tour d'une mosquée =  minaret la tour de Pise =  Leaning Tower of Pisa C'est une vraie tour =  S/he's as big as a house être gros comme une tour, être massif comme une tour =  to be as big as a house, to be very fat

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c. 1300, "a turn, a shift on duty," from Old French tor, tourn , tourn "a turn, trick, round, circuit, circumference," from torner, tourner "to turn" (see turn (v.)). Sense of "a continued ramble or excursion" is from 1640s. Tour de France as a bicycle race is recorded in English from 1916 ( Tour de France Cycliste ), distinguished from a motorcar race of the same name. The Grand Tour , a journey through France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy formerly was the finishing touch in the education of a gentleman.

1746, "make a tour, travel about," from tour (n.). Related: Toured ; touring .

Entries linking to tour

late Old English turnian "to rotate, revolve," in part also from Old French torner "to turn away or around; draw aside, cause to turn; change, transform; turn on a lathe" (Modern French tourner ), both from Latin tornare "to polish, round off, fashion, turn on a lathe," from tornus "lathe," from Greek tornos "lathe, tool for drawing circles," from PIE root *tere- (1) "to rub, turn." Transitive sense in English is from c. 1300. Related: Turned ; turning .

Use in expression to turn (something) into (something else) probably retains the classical sense of "to shape on a lathe." To turn up "arrive, make an appearance" is recorded from 1755. Turn about "by turns, alternately" is recorded from 1640s. To turn (something) loose "set free" is recorded from 1590s. Turn down (v.) "reject" first recorded 1891, American English. Turn in "go to bed" is attested from 1690s, originally nautical. To turn the stomach "nauseate" is recorded from 1620s. To turn up one's nose as an expression of contempt is attested from 1779.

Turning point is attested by 1640s in a figurative sense "point at which a decisive change takes place;" literal sense "point on which a thing turns; point at which motion in one direction ceases and that in another or contrary direction begins" is from 1660s.

1832, "surroundings, environment," picked up by De Quincey from French entourage , from entourer "to surround" (16c.), from Old French entour "that which surrounds" (10c.), from en- "in" (see en- (1)) + tour "a circuit" (see tour ). Specific sense of "attendant persons, persons among whom as followers or companions one is accustomed to move" recorded in English by 1860.

tour de force

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updated on September 28, 2017

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Translation of tour à tour – French–English dictionary

Tour à tour.

(Translation of tour à tour from the PASSWORD French-English Dictionary © 2014 K Dictionaries Ltd)

Examples in english of alternately

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English translation of 'tour à tour'

• tour à tour

Examples of 'tour à tour' in a sentence tour à tour

Browse alphabetically tour à tour.

• tour carrée
• tour circulaire
• All FRENCH words that begin with 'T'

Related terms of tour à tour

• à tour de bras
• à tour de rôle
• fermer à double tour
• jouer un tour à qn
• faire un tour à vélo
• View more related words

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