stoppare

to stop, to block

verb stohp-PAH-reh Rare

Origin: Borrowed from English 'stop' via sporting jargon.

Also means

to trap (ball in sports)

Usage Note

Stoppare is an anglicism that entered Italian through football (soccer), where it means to trap or control the ball. In wider use it means to block or halt something. It is conjugated like a regular first-conjugation verb. More neutral synonyms include fermare or bloccare.

Examples

"Il portiere ha stoppato il pallone con il petto."

Natural Translation

The goalkeeper stopped the ball with his chest.

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