Italian–English dictionary

buffonesco

Resembling or characteristic of a circus clown; comical, ridiculous.

Bugatti

A surname from Italian.

bugia

A sweet, crisp pastry in the form of twisted ribbons dusted with confectioner's sugar.

bugiarda

A person who frequently lies; someone who tells a lie.

bugiardaggine

The state of being untruthful; dishonesty.

bugiardino

(in the plural) A set of directions provided by a manufacturer for the users of a product or service.

bugiardo

Deceptive, two-faced.

bugigattolo

A small stall for the display and sale of goods.

bugna

(architectural element) A knob or projection, usually at the intersection of ribs in a vault.

bugola

A plant in the family Lamiaceae grown as a ground cover Ajuga reptans, and other plants in the genus Ajuga.

buio

Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.

bulbo

(nautical) A low bulkhead across the forecastle deck of a ship which diverts water breaking over the bows into the scuppers.

bulbo oculare

The ball of the eye.

bulgara

(countable) A native of Bulgaria.

Bulgaria

A country in Southeast Europe. Official name: Republic of Bulgaria. Capital and largest city: Sofia.

bulgaro

Relating to Bulgaria, its people, or the Bulgarian language.

bulimia

(pathology) A chronic eating disorder characterized by a binge-and-purge cycle: extreme overeating followed by self-induced vomiting.

bulino

A chisel with a sharp point, used for engraving; a graver.

bulldog

A breed of dog developed in England by the crossing of the bullbaiting dog and the Pug to produce a ladies' companion dog, having a very smooth coat, a flattened face, wrinkly cheeks, powerful front legs, and smaller hind legs.

bulldozer

A tractor with caterpillar tracks and an attached blade for pushing earth and building debris for coarse preliminary surface grading, demolishing building structures, etc.

bulletta

A small nail with a flat head.

bullismo

An act of intimidating a person to do something, especially such repeated coercion.

bullo

A person who is intentionally physically or emotionally cruel to others, especially to those whom they perceive as being vulnerable or of less power or privilege. [from late 17th c.]

bullone

A bar of wood or metal dropped in horizontal hooks on a door and adjoining wall or between the two sides of a double door, to prevent the door(s) from being forced open.

bumerang

A flat curved airfoil that spins about an axis perpendicular to the direction of flight, originally used in various parts of the world as a hunting weapon or, in returnable types, for sports or training.

bumper

(broadcasting) A short ditty or jingle used to separate a show from the advertisements.

buon

Beneficial; worthwhile.

buon appetito

Used to wish someone enjoyment of the meal they are about to eat.

buon giorno

(dated, formal) A somewhat formal greeting generally used between sunrise and sunset.

buon senso

The discretionary use of knowledge for the greatest good.

buon viaggio

Used to wish someone a good journey.

buona fortuna

Used to wish fortune on someone or as encouragement; a benediction or valediction.

buona volontà

A favorably disposed attitude toward someone or something.

buongiorno

(rather formal in, _, US, Canada) A greeting or farewell said in the afternoon.

buongustaio

A person who appreciates good food.

buono

Effective.

buono a nulla

(idiomatic) Useless; worthless.

buonsenso

Ordinary sensible understanding; one's basic intelligence which allows for plain understanding and without which good decisions or judgments cannot be made.

buonumore

(uncountable) A cheerful attitude; happiness; a good, happy, or positive mood. [from 14th c.]

burattinaia

A person who uses a puppet.

burattinaio

A person who uses a puppet.

buratto

A device with a mesh, grate, or otherwise perforated bottom to separate, in a granular material, larger particles from smaller ones, or to separate solid objects from a liquid.

burbanza

The state or property of being haughty; arrogance, snobbery.

burbero

An ill-tempered person full of stubborn ideas or opinions, often an older man.

bure

(nautical) The maximum width of a vessel (note that a vessel with a beam of 15 foot can also be said to be 15 foot abeam).

buricco

A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse.

burino

A peasant.

burla

Gaiety; merriment. [from 1610s]

burlare

(idiomatic, informal) To tease, ridicule or make jokes about, generally in a pejorative manner.

burlarsi

(transitive) To poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately in a playful way.

burlesco

(dated) Parodical; parodic

burlona

One who performs pranks.

burlone

One who performs pranks.

burnout

(automotive) Use of the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary, causing the spinning tires to produce smoke and burn rubber.

burocrate

An official who is part of a bureaucracy.

burocratese

(informal, pejorative) A style of language, used by bureaucrats, that involves jargon or euphemism to the detriment of broader understanding.

burocratico

Of or pertaining to bureaucracy or the actions of bureaucrats.

burrasca

(meteorology) A very strong wind, more than a breeze, less than a storm; number 7 through to 9 winds on the 12-step Beaufort scale.

burrito

A Mexican dish consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped around a filling of meat and/or beans, cheese etc.

burro

A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).

burrone

A ravine-like or deep V-shaped valley, often eroded by flash floods; shallower than a canyon and deeper than a gully.

burroso

Made with or tasting of butter.

bus

An electrical conductor or interface serving as a common connection for two or more circuits or components.

Busan

A metropolitan city of South Korea. It is the second largest city and the largest port city in Korea. It is also well known for its beaches and port.

buscare

(intransitive, followed by "for") To look thoroughly.

Bush

A surname from Middle English.

bussare

(intransitive) To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood.

bussola

A sealed box with a slit, into which a voter places a completed voting slip.

bussolotto

A sealed box with a slit, into which a voter places a completed voting slip.

busta

(countable, uncountable) In certain phrases: money.

busta primo giorno di emissione

(philately) An envelope complete with stamps and postmarks etc.

bustarella

(informal) A bribe, a secret payment.

bustina

A special hat to indicate rank, occupation, etc.

busto

A sculptural portrayal of a person's head and shoulders.

butano

(organic compound) A hydrocarbon (either of the two isomers of C4H10, n-butane and 2-methylpropane) found in gaseous petroleum fractions.

butirro

A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).

buttadentro

A person employed to solicit customers by calling out to passersby, e.g. at a carnival.

buttafuori

(informal) A member of security personnel employed by bars, nightclubs, etc. to decide who can enter, maintain order, and deal with patrons who cause trouble.

buttare

(transitive, computing) To copy (data) from a system to another place or system, usually in order to archive it.

buttare all'aria

(transitive) To search something thoroughly and with disregard for the way in which things were arranged.

buttare giù

(transitive, colloquial, originally, US) To criticize verbally; to denigrate; to undervalue.

buttare via

(transitive, informal) To discard, to throw away.

butte

(US) An isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top.

buttero

One who herds.

buzzo

The belly of a human, especially a large, fat protruding one.

buzzurro

A peasant.

c'è qualcuno

A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected.

ca.

Abbreviation of circa.

cabaret

Live entertainment held in a restaurant or nightclub; the genre of music associated with this form of entertainment, especially in early 20th century Europe.

cabina

A boxlike room or enclosure just big enough to accommodate one standing person, such as a phone booth or polling booth.

cabina di comando

The compartment in an aircraft or spacecraft in which the pilot sits and from where the craft is controlled. [from 20th c.]

cabina di pilotaggio

The compartment in an aircraft or spacecraft in which the pilot sits and from where the craft is controlled. [from 20th c.]

cabinet

The outer covering or framework of a piece of apparatus such as a computer.

cablare

(transitive) To provide (something) with cable(s).

cabotiere

A merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters, especially one that travels between ports of the same country.

cabotiero

A merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters, especially one that travels between ports of the same country.

cabrata

(figurative) A quick ascent.

cacao

The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made.

cacare

(transitive) To defecate (on); to shit.

cacasotto

(countable, slang, sometimes, derogatory) A coward.

cacatua

A bird of the family Cacatuidae with a curved beak and a zygodactyl foot. [from 1610s]

cacca

(slang) Excrement.

caccia

(real tennis) The occurrence of a second bounce by the ball in certain areas of the court, giving the server the chance, later in the game, to "play off" the chase from the receiving end and possibly win the point.

caccia all'uomo

An organized search for a criminal or enemy.

caccia alla balena

The practice of hunting whales.

cacciagione

(uncountable) Wild animals hunted for food.

cacciamosche

A hand-held device for swatting flies or other insects, to kill or shoo them.

cacciapietre

(rail transport, principally, _, US) A plough-shaped device affixed to the front of a locomotive (or other large vehicle), usually wedge or V-shaped so as to push or deflect objects on the tracks out of the way, to clear out the train's path and prevent the risk of derailment or major damage to it.

cacciare

(real tennis) The occurrence of a second bounce by the ball in certain areas of the court, giving the server the chance, later in the game, to "play off" the chase from the receiving end and possibly win the point.

cacciare di frodo

(ambitransitive) To take game or fish illegally.

cacciare teste

(anthropology) A person who practises headhunting, the taking and preserving of a person's head after killing them.

cacciarsi

(transitive) To cover or enclose with bark.

cacciatore

Something or someone who chases. [from 14th c.]

cacciatorpediniere

(science fiction, by extension) A starship of comparable role.

cacciatrice

Something or someone who chases. [from 14th c.]

cacciavite

A hand tool or power tool which engages with the head of a screw and allows torque to be applied to turn the screw, thus driving it in or loosening it.

caccola

(US, Canada, Philippines, slang) A piece of solid or semisolid mucus in or removed from a nostril.

cache

(computing) A fast temporary storage where recently or frequently used information is stored to avoid having to reload it from a slower storage medium.

cachi

A persimmon, specifically a Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki).

cachistocrazia

(political science) Government under the control of a nation's worst or least-qualified citizens. [from 1829.]

caciara

(slang) A street fight or brawl.

cacioburghese

A hamburger containing cheese (usually one or more slices of processed cheese).

caco

The tree this fruit grows on, generally one of two species of ebony: Diospyros kaki (Asian) or Diospyros virginiana (North American).

cacodemone

An evil or malevolent spirit.

cacofonia

A mix of discordant sounds; dissonance.

cactus

(botany) Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.

cadavere

(literary, medicine) A dead body; especially the corpse of a human to be dissected. [from late 14th c.]

cadaverico

Pertaining to a corpse.

caddie

(by extension, golf, also, attributively) A person hired to assist a golfer by carrying their golf clubs and providing advice.

cadente

Having fallen into a state of disrepair or deterioration, especially through neglect.

cadenza

(linguistics, sociolinguistics) The distinctive manner of pronouncing a language associated with a particular region, social group, etc., whether of a native speaker or a foreign speaker; the phonetic and phonological aspects of a dialect.

cadere

(intransitive) To stop living; to become dead; to undergo death.

cadere a piombo

(intransitive) To drop swiftly, in a direct manner; to fall quickly.

cadere in catalessi

(intransitive) To gradually fall asleep.

cadetto

A student at a military school who is training to be an officer.

cadetto navale

(nautical) An officer of the lowest rank in several navies; especially, a trainee officer.

Cadice

A port city and municipality, the capital of the province of Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain.

caditoia

A prepared channel in a surface, especially at the side of a road adjacent to a curb, intended for the drainage of water.

caducifoglio

(botany) Of or pertaining to trees which lose their leaves in winter or the dry season.

caduco

(biology, anatomy) Describing a part that falls off, or is shed, at a particular time or stage of development.

caduta

A decline.

caduta di testa

A headlong fall, jump or dive.

caffè

A coffee shop; an establishment selling coffee and sometimes other non-alcoholic beverages, simple meals or snacks, with a facility to consume them on the premises.

caffè espresso

A concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee.

caffè liscio

A concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee.

caffeina

An alkaloid, C8H10N4O2, found naturally in tea and coffee plants, which acts as a mild stimulant on the central nervous system. [from 1830]

caffellatte

(figurative, informal, attributive) Affluent leftism.

caffetteria

(chiefly, US, Canada) A restaurant in which customers select their food at a counter then carry it on a tray to a table to eat.

caffo

(maths, not comparable) Numerically indivisible by two.

cafona

A member of the lowly social class that toils on the land, constituted by small farmers and tenants, sharecroppers, farmhands and other laborers on the land where they form the main labor force in agriculture and horticulture.