pressing
/pʁɛ.siŋ/
The English phrase 'dry cleaning' can be translated into French as pressing.
In French, pressing is most commonly used to refer to the business or the establishment where clothes are cleaned. To express the action of getting clothes dry cleaned, you can use the phrase faire un pressing or apporter des vêtements au pressing.
Meaning: process of cleaning without water (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables and is pronounced /pʁɛ.siŋ/.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the word pressing as a verb or an adjective. However, in French, le pressing is a noun that refers to the dry cleaner's shop itself.
Did you know?
- The word pressing is a 'pseudo-anglicism', meaning it is a word that looks English but has a meaning that would be unrecognizable to a native English speaker.
- In many French-speaking regions, the word pressing might be replaced by teinturerie, a term that refers more to the historical practice of dyeing fabrics.
- In France, the act of removing wrinkles from clothes with a hot iron is called le repassage, but the shop that does this professionally is the pressing.
Examples in context
- Pourriez-vous nettoyer cela à sec, s'il vous plaît?Could you please dry clean this?
- Le pressing est fermé le dimanche.The dry cleaner is closed on Sundays.
- Je dois apporter cette robe au pressing.I need to take this dress to the dry cleaner.
- Est-ce que le pressing accepte les costumes ?Does the dry cleaner accept suits?
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are preparing for a wedding.
- ManonEst-ce que tu as déposé ton costume au pressing ?Did you drop your suit off at the dry cleaner?
- GabrielNon, je l'apporterai demain matin.No, I will take it there tomorrow morning.
- ManonN'oublie pas, le mariage est samedi !Don't forget, the wedding is on Saturday!
- GabrielNe t'inquiète pas, Manon, je m'en occupe.Don't worry, Manon, I'm taking care of it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry pressing, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pressing, CC BY-SA 4.0.
