stringere

Italian

Alternative forms

• strignere (archaic)

Etymology

From Latin stringere, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *streyg-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstrin.d͡ʒe.re/
• Rhymes: -indʒere
• Hyphenation: strìn‧ge‧re

Verb

strìngere (first-person singular present strìngo, first-person singular past historic strìnsi, past participle strétto, auxiliary avére)

1. (transitive) to clasp, to grasp, to grab tightly, to hold tightly

   il cavalliere stringe la spada ― the knight is holding onto the sword

2. (transitive) to close tightly, to squeeze
3. (transitive) to contract (a muscle)
4. (transitive) to tighten, to make tighter
5. (transitive) to shrink, to reduce in size

   ho chiesto il sarto se lui potesse stringere la camicia ― I asked the tailor if he could shrink the button-down shirt

6. (transitive) to be excessively tight on, to squeeze (someone) (of clothing)

   questa gonna mi stringe alla vita ― this skirt is too tight on my waist

7. (intransitive) to be excessively tight (of clothing) [auxiliary avere]
8. (transitive) to tie around tightly, to bind

   la mamma gli ha stretto una benda sul polpaccio ― the mother bound a bandage around his calf

   1. (transitive) to fasten (a seatbelt, etc.)
9. (transitive) to force (into a narrow place), to squeeze

   un camion mi ha stretto in curva ― a truck forced me to the curve

10. (transitive, figurative) to form (a friendship, relationship)

    stringere un'amicizia ― to form a friendship

11. (transitive, figurative) to settle on or conclude (a contract, deal, etc.)
12. (transitive, figurative) to make more concise, to abridge, to summarize

    la maestra gridò, "Meno chiacchiere, stringete!" ― the teacher yelled, "Less chatter, make it quick!"

13. (transitive, uncommon) to force, to compel
14. (transitive, literary) to dominate
15. (intransitive) to veer sharply (of a motor vehicle) [auxiliary avere]
16. (intransitive, sports, especially soccer) to move to the center, towards the goal; to centralize by converging towards the midfield or the opponent's goal [auxiliary avere]
17. (intransitive) to be pressing; to run out; to quickly approach a deadline (of time) [auxiliary avere]

    dobbiamo muoverci, il tempo stringe ― we better move, time is running out

18. (intransitive) to taste sour; to have an astringent effect (of food or drink) [auxiliary avere]

Conjugation

    Conjugation of strìngere (root-stressed -ere; irregular) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)

infinitive	strìngere
auxiliary verb		avére	gerund		stringèndo
present participle		stringènte	past participle		strétto
person	singular			plural
	first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	io	tu	lui/lei, esso/essa	noi	voi	loro, essi/esse
present	strìngo	strìngi	strìnge	stringiàmo	stringéte	strìngono
imperfect	stringévo	stringévi	stringéva	stringevàmo	stringevàte	stringévano
past historic	strìnsi	stringésti	strìnse	stringémmo	stringéste	strìnsero
future	stringerò	stringerài	stringerà	stringerémo	stringeréte	stringerànno
conditional	stringerèi	stringerésti	stringerèbbe, stringerébbe	stringerémmo	stringeréste	stringerèbbero, stringerébbero
subjunctive	che io	che tu	che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa	che noi	che voi	che loro, che essi/che esse
present	strìnga	strìnga	strìnga	stringiàmo	stringiàte	strìngano
imperfect	stringéssi	stringéssi	stringésse	stringéssimo	stringéste	stringéssero
imperative	—	tu	Lei	noi	voi	Loro
		strìngi	strìnga	stringiàmo	stringéte	strìngano
negative imperative		non strìngere	non strìnga	non stringiàmo	non stringéte	non strìngano

Derived terms

• stringatezza
• stringere d'assedio
• stringere i denti
• stringere il cuore
• stringere la cinghia
• stringere la gola
• stringere un patto
• stringersi
• stringi stringi
• stringimento
• stringitore
• stringitura

 

Related terms

• astringere
• costringere / constringere
• distringere
• restringere / ristringere
• stretto

 

Further reading

• stringere in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• stringere in Aldo Gabrielli, Grandi Dizionario Italiano (Hoepli)
• stringere in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa
• strìngere in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
• strìngere in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• restringe, strignere

Latin

Verb

stringēre

1. second-person singular future passive indicative of stringō

Verb

stringere

1. inflection of stringō:
   1. present active infinitive
   2. second-person singular present passive imperative/indicative