double entendre

[duhb-uh l ahn-tahn-druh, -tahnd; French doo-blahn-tahn-druh]

noun, plural dou·ble en·ten·dres

[duhb-uh l ahn-tahn-druh z, -tahndz; French doo-blahn-tahn-druh] /ˈdʌb əl ɑnˈtɑn drəz, -ˈtɑndz; French du blɑ̃ˈtɑ̃ drə/.

a double meaning.
a word or expression used in a given context so that it can be understood in two ways, especially when one meaning is risqué.

Origin of double entendre

From obsolete French, dating back to 1665–75; see origin at double, intend

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for entendre

Contemporary Examples of entendre

But the entendre and innuendo permeates the rest of the series—often innocently, but sometimes far more blatantly.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music
Kevin Fallon
December 23, 2014

Historical Examples of entendre

Devez entendre que la pluspart de cette ville, hommes et femmes, tiennent fermement l'ancienne foi.
History of the Great Reformation, Volume IV
J. H. Merle D'Aubign
Mais peut-tre y avait-il une bonne part d'exagration dans ce que les Werstiens croyaient voir, entendre et ressentir.
Le chteau des Carpathes
Jules Verne

British Dictionary definitions for entendre

double entendre

noun

a word, phrase, etc, that can be interpreted in two ways, esp one having one meaning that is indelicate
the type of humour that depends upon such ambiguity

Word Origin for double entendre

C17: from obsolete French: double meaning

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

Word Origin and History for entendre

double entendre

also double-entendre, 1670s, from French (where it was rare and is now obsolete), literally "a twofold meaning," from entendre (now entente) "to hear, to understand, to mean." The proper Modern French phrase would be double entente, but the phrase has become established in English in its old form.