destacar
Spanish, verb/destaˈkaɾ/
destacar is spelled D-E-S-T-A-C-A-R (8 letters) and appears 23 times per million words in written Spanish, the 3,473rd most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Destacar is a Spanish verb meaning “to emphasize, to highlight, to stress, to point out, to single out, to underline, to underscore, to bring out, to note” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Poner de relieve, resaltar, llamar la atención”.
What does destacar mean in English?
verb
- 1
to emphasize, to highlight, to stress, to point out, to single out, to underline, to underscore, to bring out, to note
- 2
to detach troops
- 3
to stand out, to excel, to shine (to make oneself stand out, to distinguish oneself)
- 4
to stand out, to jump out at (+ a) (i.e., to be highly noticeable to)
- 5
to be highlighted, emphasized, stressed, underlined, underscored, pointed out
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Poner de relieve, resaltar, llamar la atención. 2. Separar del cuerpo principal de la tropa algunos efectivos, para realizar una misión.
verb: 1. Sobresalir, descollar, distinguirse por una aptitud física o moral.
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of destacar
- destaco first-person present singular
- destaqué first-person preterite singular
- destacado participle past
- c-qu alternation
- destacando gerund
- destacada feminine participle past
- destacados masculine participle past
- destacadas feminine participle past
- destacas indicative informal present
- destacás indicative informal present
- destaca indicative present singular
- destacamos first-person indicative plural
- destacáis indicative plural present
- destacan indicative plural present
- destacaba first-person imperfect indicative
- destacabas imperfect indicative second-person
- destacábamos first-person imperfect indicative
- destacabais imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce destacar?
- /destaˈkaɾ/
- [d̪es.t̪aˈkaɾ]
- [d̪est̪aˈkaɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to destacar
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is destacar in Spanish?
destacar appears 23 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).