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volant

steering wheel

noun voh-LAHN Less Common

Also means

shuttlecock

Usage Note

Volant primarily means the steering wheel of a car in everyday French (prendre le volant = to take the wheel). It also refers to the shuttlecock in badminton. As an adjective it means flying or mobile — personnel volant means airline crew. The word comes from voler (to fly).

Examples

"Il a les mains sur le volant depuis des heures."

Natural Translation

He has had his hands on the steering wheel for hours.

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