barrage

noun bah-RAHJ Rare

Origin: From French barrage (barrier, barring), from barrer (to bar).

Also means

barrier

Usage Note

Barrage is a French-origin loanword used in Italian military contexts (artillery barrage) and in sport (a play-off match used as a tiebreaker, especially in football relegation). It is masculine and invariable: il barrage, i barrage. In everyday Italian sbarramento is the native alternative.

Examples

"Le truppe avanzarono sotto il barrage di artiglieria."

Natural Translation

The troops advanced under the artillery barrage.

Related Words

Explore Italian by topic

ItalianNow

Buongiorno, Ciao or Salve? Italian Greetings Made Easy

When in doubt, say salve and mirror the reply. Here's how to pick between buongiorno, buonasera, ciao and salve so your Italian greetings never sound rude.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Italian Present Tense: -are, -ere, -ire Verbs

Conjugate Italian present-tense verbs fast: one color-coded chart for -are, -ere, and -ire endings, plus the sneaky -isc- group most guides bury.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

ItalianNow

Most Common Italian Verbs: The 10 That Unlock Speech

Drill these 10 most common Italian verbs first and you unlock past tense, modals, and the progressive — a 7-day plan with every present-tense form to memorize.

June 9, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Italian Numbers 1 to 100: Count Like a Local

Learn Italian numbers 1 to 100 by mastering 0-20, the tens, and 3 spelling rules so you can generate any number from ventuno to novantanove on demand.

June 5, 2026 5 min read