piombo

lead

noun PYOHM-boh Rare

Origin: From Latin plumbum (lead), source of the chemical symbol Pb.

Usage Note

Piombo is the heavy metal lead. The phrase cadere come un piombo (to fall like a lump of lead) means to fall heavily. Gli anni di piombo refers to Italy's 'Years of Lead' (1970s–80s), the era of political terrorism. A piombo means perfectly vertical, plumb. The plural piombi is regular.

Examples

"Le tubature vecchie spesso contengono piombo."

Natural Translation

Old pipes often contain lead.

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