mordre

Mordre is a French verb that means "to bite" in English.

Meaning:

• It generally refers to the action of using the teeth to cut into or grip something.
• It can be used literally to describe animals or people biting.
• It can also be used figuratively to mean "to sting", "to nip", or sometimes "to have an effect" (e.g., "Ce froid mord" = "This cold bites").

Parts:

• Root: mord- (related to biting)
• It belongs to the 3rd group of French verbs (irregular verbs ending in -re).

Conjugation example (present tense):

• je mords (I bite)
• tu mords (you bite, singular informal)
• il/elle mord (he/she bites)
• nous mordons (we bite)
• vous mordez (you bite, plural/formal)
• ils/elles mordent (they bite)

Synonyms:

• croquer (to crunch, to munch)
• piquer (in some contexts: to sting, to bite as an insect)
• mordre à pleines dents (idiomatic: to bite deeply, enthusiastic participation)

Antonyms:

• lâcher (to let go, release — as opposed to gripping with teeth)
• relâcher (to release, to loosen)

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Summary:
“Mordre” expresses the action of biting using the teeth. It can be literal when talking about animals or people or figurative when describing sensations like cold or sharpness. It is an irregular verb with various related uses in French.