Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| perceuse | /pɛʁ.søz/ | feminine |
| foreuse | /fɔ.ʁøz/ | feminine |
In French, the term for a drill depends heavily on the scale and type of the tool. perceuse is the standard term for the tool used to make holes in wood, metal or walls. For large-scale industrial drilling equipment, such as those used in mining or geological exploration, the term foreuse is used instead. Additionally, if you are referring to the action of drilling in a technical context, you might use perçage, while forage refers to the act of drilling in the context of mining or natural resources.
Which one should you use?
Use perceuse for a standard handheld power drill used in DIY or construction. In contrast, use foreuse for large-scale industrial drilling equipment, such as those used in mining or geological exploration.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Both perceuse and foreuse are feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/pɛʁ.søz/
Did you know?
- The word forage used for large-scale drilling is a linguistic 'false friend' to the English 'forage', which means to search for food.
- The word perceuse comes from the verb percer, meaning 'to pierce'. This reflects a conceptual focus on the act of puncturing a surface rather than the rotating action of the tool.
- The suffix -euse in both perceuse and foreuse is the feminine version of the agent suffix. In French, tools that perform an action are frequently categorized as feminine nouns.
Examples in context
- Ceci n'est pas une perceuse.This is not a drill.This sentence uses perceuse to demonstrate a simple negation.Tatoeba #1112687 by Salutlolo, translation #1112681 by CC
- Le chant des oiseaux du coin est apparenté au son d'une perceuse.The singing of the local birds is akin to the sound of a drill.This sentence uses perceuse to compare a sound to the tool.Tatoeba #1066545 by sacredceltic, translation #573921 by FeuDRenais2
- La foreuse du rover a pénétré la surface martienne rouge.The drill from the rover penetrated the red Martian surface.This sentence uses foreuse to describe industrial-scale drilling on Mars.Tatoeba #10769439 by nonong, translation #10769437 by nonong
- Le perçage du mur a été fait selon les normes de sécurité.The drilling of the wall was done according to safety regulations.
- On a fait un entraînement intensif aujourd'hui.We had an intensive drill today.
- Je vais m'entraîner à me servir de cette perceuse.I am going to practice using this drill.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo is trying to hang a shelf in the living room.
- ChloéOù est la perceuse, Hugo ?Where is the drill, Hugo?
- HugoElle est dans la boîte à outils.It is in the toolbox.
- ChloéPeux-tu me la donner ?Can you give it to me?
- HugoOui, la voilà.Yes, here it is.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “drill” translations and entries perceuse, foreuse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries foreuse, perceuse, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
