French fries
80
1.0
- noun
- /frɛntʃ fraɪz/
:
patatas fritas
- She ordered a medium size of French fries and a soda.
It's chicken Nuggets, it's French fries and it's a Coke.
- It's chicken Nuggets, it's French fries and it's a Coke.
- I eat whatever nachos, cheeseburgers, French fries, candy, right?
- Cheese, bread, meat, have some French fries, throw some Mayo on there.
- So just French fries, mushy peas and gravy.
- You're cheating on French fries by going on a diet.
- So should I be able to do this with Skittles or French fries or Oreo cookies?
- I mean, he's having ribs, we're having French fries.
- But then, strictly speaking, peanuts aren't nuts and French fries aren't French.
Examples
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We then went to eat French fries at McDonald's and he taught me how to play pinball.
Fiction book (1999) -
David's room smelled of fried chicken, french fries, and other food.
Fiction book (1990) -
One day we were eating French fries.
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Could I get some french fries, please?
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Here, have a French fry.
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The only way to get hot French fries is if you ask for them without salt.
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I want large French fries too, with sweet and sour sauce.
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Well, we had some French fries at the bowling alley.
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The air was thick with the smell of French fries and tobacco smoke.
Fiction book (2002) -
And we're gonna go straight into the kitchen, and we're gonna order a burger and French fries and milkshake and ice cream sundaes.
Synonyms
218
1.0
A thin crisp slice of potato fried and eaten as a snack
2
1.0
Thick fried potato pieces eaten hot as a snack or side
1
1.0
Thin pieces of potato fried until crispy and served hot
1
4.1
Thin pieces of potato fried in oil and served hot as a side
Thin pieces of potato cooked in hot oil until crispy and served as a side
Thin crispy pieces of potato that are fried and eaten as a snack or side
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'fries' already denotes deep-fried potato strips and 'French' functions as a simple attributive indicating a style or origin; together they yield the straightforward meaning of fried potato strips. This composition follows transparent adjectival + noun patterns found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
French fries may come from World War I, when American soldiers ate thin potato strips in parts of Europe where people spoke French and began calling the fried food 'French fries'. The word fries reminds us the potatoes are cut into thin strips and 'fried' in oil, so the name links the place French and the cooking 'fried' to the food's meaning.