Meaning
ballast, dead weight
- heavy material used to make a ship or balloon steady
- dead weight or useless burden (figurative)
In a sentence
La nave ha dovuto caricare della zavorra prima di salpare.
The ship had to take on ballast before setting sail.
Dobbiamo liberarci di questa zavorra per far decollare il progetto.
We must get rid of this dead weight to get the project off the ground.
Quel vecchio accordo commerciale si è rivelato una zavorra per l'azienda.
That old trade agreement proved to be a dead weight for the company.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| zavorra | feminine · singular |
| zavorre | feminine · plural |
Usage notes
- Frequently used figuratively for people, projects, or tasks that hold one back.