Polvere
NOUN [feminine]
Meaning and English translation 🔖
1. Dust, fine particles
🇬🇧 Tiny particles of dry earth that float in the air and settle on objects.
🇮🇹 Piccole particelle di terra secca che volano nell'aria e si posano sugli oggetti.
2. Powder, any finely divided substance
🇬🇧 Any natural or artificial substance finely divided into particles.
🇮🇹 Qualsiasi sostanza naturale o artificiale finemente suddivisa in particelle.
| Masculine ♂️ | Feminine ♀️ | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | - | la - una polvere |
| Plural | - | le - delle polveri |
Example sentences 💬
La vecchia biblioteca era piena di libri coperti di polvere.
The old library was full of dust-covered books.
La strada sterrata alzava molta polvere al passaggio delle auto.
The dirt road raised a lot of dust as cars passed by.
Devo spolverare: c'è un dito di polvere ovunque!
I need to dust: there's a thick layer of dust everywhere!
Ho comprato il caffè in polvere invece che in grani.
I bought ground coffee instead of coffee beans.
Per fare il dolce ci vuole un cucchiaio di cacao in polvere.
To make the dessert you need a spoonful of cocoa powder.
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Idioms with polvere 🇮🇹
Alzare un polverone
→ Kick up a fuss
Questa decisione ha alzato un polverone in azienda.
This decision kicked up quite a fuss in the company.
Buttare/Gettare polvere negli occhi
→ Pull the wool over someone's eyes
Non provare a buttarmi polvere negli occhi: so che mi stai dicendo una bugia.
Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes: I know you're lying to me.
Mangiare la polvere
→ Eat dust/Bite the dust
Con la sua nuova moto, il pilota fa mangiare la polvere a tutti.
With his new motorcycle, the rider makes everyone eat his dust.
Prendere polvere
→ Gather dust
Il mio violino prende polvere da anni.
My violin has been gathering dust for years.
Ridurre in polvere
→ Pulverize, reduce to dust
Il terremoto ha ridotto in polvere interi edifici.
The earthquake reduced entire buildings to dust.
In polvere
→ Powdered
Per il bambino compriamo sempre il latte in polvere.
We always buy powdered milk for the baby.
Where does the word polvere come from? 🔎
Polvere comes from the Latin pulverem, accusative of pulvis, meaning dust, fine and dry earth.
