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machacar

to crush, to pound

verb mah-chah-KAHR Rare
Body & Health Movement

Also means

to hammer (figuratively), to harp on

Usage Note

Machacar literally means to crush or grind something repeatedly — machacar ajos ('to crush garlic'). Figuratively it means to harp on a point obsessively (no machaques el tema, 'stop harping on about it') or to thrash an opponent decisively. The c changes to qu before e: machaqu*é (preterite first person).

Examples

"Machacó los ajos en el mortero."

Natural Translation

He crushed the garlic in the mortar.

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