ferro
/ˈfɛr.ro/
The Italian word for iron is ferro.
If you are looking for the verb meaning to pass an iron over clothing, you should use the verb stirare instead. To specify the household appliance used for pressing clothes, Italians use the phrase il ferro da stiro.
Meaning: to pass an iron over clothing (verb)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb for ironing, stirare, is a regular '-are' verb.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /ˈfɛr.ro/. It has two syllables, and the stress is on the first syllable.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use ferro when you want to express the action of ironing clothes. Use the verb stirare for that purpose.
Did you know?
- The verb stirare literally means 'to stretch' or 'to tighten'. This reveals that the Italian concept of ironing is based on smoothing out wrinkles by stretching the fabric.
- In old Italian dialects, the word ferro was often used as a generic term for any bladed tool or weapon, such as a sword or a knife.
- While ferro refers to the metal, the word ferrovia uses the same root to mean 'railway', literally translating to an 'iron way'.
Examples in context
- Il ferro è duro.Iron is hard.This sentence illustrates a property of the noun ferro.Tatoeba #1255583 by Guybrush88, translation #278746 by Zifre
- L'oro pesa più del ferro.Gold weighs more than iron.This sentence compares the weight of gold to the noun ferro.Tatoeba #2369511 by Guybrush88, translation #742802 by rpglover64
- Sapevano creare il ferro.They knew how to make iron.This sentence describes the ability to produce the noun ferro.Tatoeba #5080992 by Guybrush88, translation #802189 by Source_VOA
- Mi serve un ferro da stiro.I need an iron.
- Farò la stiratura domani.I'll do the ironing tomorrow.
- Devo stirare questa camicia.I need to iron this shirt.
- 62 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alessandro and Sofia are doing household chores together.
- AlessandroDevo ferro questa camicia per domani.I have to iron this shirt for tomorrow.
- SofiaPosso aiutarti io a ferro i pantaloni?Can I help you iron the trousers?
- AlessandroSì, grazie Sofia, sarebbe molto utile.Yes, thanks Sofia, that would be very useful.
- SofiaPerfetto, dove posso trovare il ferro?Perfect, where can I find the iron?
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ferro, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
