Polyglot Dictionary

passer à tabac

/pɑ.se a ta.ba/

verb C1

le (masc.) la (fem.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

V Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Academic Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

present
passe à tabac
past
a passé à tabac
perfect
passé à tabac

Meaning

  1. to beat someone up

    • Les malfaiteurs passent le témoin à tabac.

      The criminals beat up the witness.

V Category Action Concreteness Concrete Agency Voluntary Duration Durative Transitivity Transitive

Similar words

battre

passer à tabac means "to beat someone up," a more violent, informal idiom; battre is the general word "to beat."

Practice

1 What does passer à tabac mean?

2 Fill the gap: Les malfaiteurs passent le témoin à ___.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches passer à tabac?

verb

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