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sbancare

to break the bank

verb zbahn-KAH-reh Rare

Also means

to wipe out

Usage Note

Sbancare literally means to break (empty) a bank or casino — sbancare il casinò (to break the bank at the casino). Figuratively it means to make a huge financial gain or to bankrupt someone. It follows regular -are conjugation. The noun sbancamento usually refers to earth-clearing/excavation in construction contexts — a false friend for the gambling sense.

Examples

"Quella sera riuscì a sbancare il tavolo da poker."

Natural Translation

That evening he managed to break the poker table.

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