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ingolfare

to flood, to choke (an engine)

verb een-gohl-FAH-reh Rare
Travel & Places Transportation

Also means

to swamp, to overwhelm

Usage Note

Ingolfare originally referred to flooding a carburetor or engine with too much fuel, causing it to stall — ho ingolfato il motore ('I flooded the engine'). Figuratively it means to swamp or overwhelm with too much of something: ingolfarsi nel lavoro ('to get bogged down in work'). It is conjugated as a regular first-conjugation verb; the reflexive ingolfarsi is common.

Examples

"Ho ingolfato il motore partendo troppo in fretta."

Natural Translation

I flooded the engine by leaving too quickly.

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