What does peu à peu in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word peu à peu in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use peu à peu in French.

The word peu à peu in French means little by little, little by little, more or less, pretty much, around about, by very little, cheaply, around, about, roughly the same, just about all, slapdash, slap-dash, be reluctant to do, a short time ago, leave little to the imagination. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word peu à peu

little by little

locution adverbiale (progressivement)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Grégoire grandit peu à peu.

little by little

locution adverbiale (avec le temps)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
La folie gagnait l'artiste peu à peu.

more or less, pretty much, around about

locution adverbiale (quasiment, avec peu de différence)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Le bilan est à peu de choses près le même que celui de l'année dernière.

by very little

locution adverbiale (très proche du but)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Benjamin a échoué à l'examen à peu de choses près.

cheaply

locution adverbiale (sans trop dépenser)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Avec la liquidation de ce magasin, Julie a pu refaire sa garde robe à peu de frais.

around, about

locution adverbiale (environ)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
D'ici à Paris, il y a à peu près 45 km.
From here to Paris is about 45 km.

roughly the same

locution adverbiale (presque pareil)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

just about all

locution adverbiale (presque tout)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
C'est à peu près tout ce que je sais de cette histoire.

slapdash, slap-dash

nom masculin (approximation, travail mal terminé) (informal)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
Cet employé ne termine jamais les choses, c'est toujours de l'à-peu-près !
That employee never finishes anything; it's always slapdash.

be reluctant to do

(ne pas souhaiter faire [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

a short time ago

(peu auparavant, récemment)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Il y a peu, tu aurais eu de la neige.

leave little to the imagination

locution verbale (vêtements : montrer plus que voulu)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Le cycliste portait un short très serré qui laissait peu de place à l'imagination.

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of peu à peu in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.