The Italian word spinta quite literally means push in English. It is the feminine form of spinto (pushed, compelled), which in turn comes from the verb spingere (to push).
spinta
push / incentive
Because spinta is feminine, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles:
- la spinta = the push
- le spinte = the pushes
- una spinta = a push
- delle spinte = (some) pushes
Two of the most common verbs you will see used with spinta are ricevere (to receive) and dare (to give). Ricevere una spinta means “to be pushed” whereas dara una spinta means “to push / to give a push“.
Carlo ha ricevuto una spinta dal bullo ed è caduto per terra.
Carlo was pushed by the bully and fell to the ground.
Il bullo ha dato una spinta a Carlo, facendolo cadere per terra.
The bully pushed Carlo, causing him to fall on the ground.
If the push that you give is light, you can describe it as being una leggera spinta or una spintarella (a nudge), whereas a stronger push would be called una grossa spinta (a big push) or uno spintone (a shove).
Just like the English word push, spinta can be used figuratively to mean incentive, motivation, boost or more colloquially, kick in the butt!
Le parole incoraggianti di Alessia mi hanno dato la spinta che mi serviva per iniziare il nuovo progetto.
Alessia’s encouraging words gave me the incentive I needed to start the new project.
Another possible figurative meaning for spinta is string-pulling, as in the act of using your own influence to get things done, often unfairly.
Mario ha fatto carriera a forza di spinte.
Mario climbed the corporate ladder thanks to string-pulling.
In scientific terms, spinta also refers to the thrust, pressure or force of an object (e.g. la spinta del vento = wind pressure).
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
