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spreco

waste

noun SPREH-koh Rare

Also means

squandering

Usage Note

Spreco is masculine; its plural is sprechi (the -co/-chi pattern). It refers to wasteful use of resources — uno spreco di denaro/tempo ('a waste of money/time'). The related verb is sprecare; the adjective sprecone means 'wasteful person' (colloquial). Not a false friend, but learners sometimes confuse it with sfregio ('scar, affront').

Examples

"Buttare via quel cibo è uno spreco enorme."

Natural Translation

Throwing away that food is an enormous waste.

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