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abarcar

to cover; to encompass

verb ah-bahr-KAHR Less Common
Descriptions & Qualities Manner

Usage Note

Abarcar literally means to span or embrace physically (sus brazos no abarcaban el tronco — 'his arms couldn't get around the trunk') and figuratively to cover a range of topics or areas. The proverb quien mucho abarca, poco aprieta ('he who grasps too much, holds little') is the equivalent of 'don't bite off more than you can chew'. Spelling note: the c changes to qu before e (abarqué).

Examples

"El informe abarca diez años de datos."

Natural Translation

The report covers ten years of data.

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