à cheval

American

[a shuh-val, ah shuh-val] / a ʃəˈval, ˈɑ ʃəˈvæl /

French.

by horse; on horseback.

à cheval British

/ a ʃəval /

adverb

(of a bet, esp in roulette) made on two adjacent numbers, cards, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of à cheval

literally: on horseback

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If his wife rides out, he attends her à cheval.

From The South-West By a Yankee. In Two Volumes. Volume 2 by Ingraham, Jonathon Holt

What an effect has been missed by not bringing them in on real horses, and giving them a quartette or a sestette à cheval, with a solo for the Captain!

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, 19 April 1890 by Various

"Ah was been lee'l garçon—lee'l bébé, no père; ma mère was been—how you say?—gypsee à cheval, hein?" he appealed to McCann.

From Flamsted quarries by Nelson, G. Patrick

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023