matar

/[maˈt̪aɾ]/ verb

Letters

5 characters

Frequency Rank

#1,383

in Spanish word usage

Misspellings

7

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

matar is aSpanishverb. It means: Quitar la vida. Pronounced [maˈt̪aɾ]. It ranks #1,383 in Spanish word frequency. Often confused with meta and mate.

Key facts for matar
PropertyValue
Headwordmatar
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[maˈt̪aɾ]
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,383
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of matar in Spanish word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for matar is 5 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [maˈt̪aɾ]. Corpus data places it at rank #1,383 in overall Spanish word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 20 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for matar, with forms such as "amtar", "maatr", and "matarr". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "meta", "mate", "mato", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct Spanish form is matar, spelled M-A-T-A-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Quitar la vida.
  2. 2
    Ocasionar la muerte.
  3. 3
    Destruir algo inmaterial.
  4. 4
    Acabar con la paciencia de alguien.
  5. 5
    Perjudicar la salud, dañar.
  6. 6
    Fatigar en exceso.
  7. 7
    Causar una gran sorpresa.
  8. 8
    Apagar el fuego, lumbre o luz.
  9. 9
    Volver más opaco o débil un color o un brillo.
  10. 10
    Calmar la sed o el hambre.
  11. 11
    Quitarle fuerza al yeso o la cal agregándole agua.
  12. 12
    Ocasionar llagas la montura, el apero, correas u otra cosa, al caballo (o al animal de tiro, carga o de monta).
  13. 13
    Volver romos, los bordes cortantes o puntiagudos.
  14. 14
    Con relación al tiempo de espera o desocupado, hacerlo pasar realizando una actividad cualquiera.
  15. 15
    Marcar con un timbre los sellos de cartas y envíos postales en las oficinas de correos.
  16. 16
    En diversos juegos con fichas o piezas: hacer volver la pieza o ficha al punto de partida o sacarla del juego.
  17. 17
    En juegos de naipes, superar al contrario con una carta de más valor.
  18. 18
    En juegos de naipes, fullería consistente en marcar con la uña algunas cartas.
  19. 19
    En algunos juegos con pelota, tocar a un jugador con la pelota para eliminarlo.
  20. 20
    Bajar la pelota a tierra al recibir un pase, y detenerla completamente.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: amtar,maatr,matarr,matra,mattar,mmatar,mtaar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for matar

Misspelling Variants of "matar"

amtar5maatr5matarr6matra5mattar6mmatar6mtaar5
Misspelling Variants of "matar"

Frequency rank: #1,383 in Spanish

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "matar"?
"matar" is spelled M-A-T-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is [maˈt̪aɾ].
What does "matar" mean?
As a verb, "matar" means: Quitar la vida.
What words are commonly confused with "matar"?
"matar" is commonly confused with "meta", "mate", "mato". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "matar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "matar" is [maˈt̪aɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "matar" come from?
"matar" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby Spanish words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our Spanish index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.