rafle

raid

noun RAHFL Rare

Also means

sweep (police)

Usage Note

Rafle carries a heavy historical weight in French: la Rafle du Vél d'Hiv (July 1942) was the mass roundup of Jewish people in Paris during the Nazi occupation, and the word is strongly associated with that event. More generally it means any police sweep or mass arrest. The verb rafler also means 'to sweep up' prizes or goods.

Examples

"La rafle a eu lieu à l'aube."

Natural Translation

The raid took place at dawn.

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