verb

atterrir

land

Word: atterrir

Meaning in English:
The French verb atterrir means "to land"—specifically, it is used to describe the action of an aircraft or any flying object coming down and touching the ground. For example, "L'avion va atterrir" means "The plane is going to land."

Parts of the word:

The prefix "at-" (a form of "ad-") often indicates motion toward something, here it implies moving toward the ground.
The root "terrir" comes from "terre", the French noun meaning "earth" or "land."

Thus, "atterrir" literally means "to move toward the earth/land" or "to land."

Synonyms:

se poser (to alight, to land, often used for birds or planes)
arriver (to arrive, less precise about landing but used in context)

Antonyms:

décoller (to take off, for aircraft) — this is the direct opposite of "atterrir."

Additional note:

Although "atterrir" mainly refers to aircraft or flying vehicles, it can also be used metaphorically to mean "to end up" or "to turn up" somewhere unexpectedly or after some process, e.g., "Il a atterri chez moi" meaning "He ended up at my place."