matar
Spanish, verb/maˈtaɾ/
matar is spelled M-A-T-A-R (5 letters) and appears 63 times per million words in written Spanish, the 1,375th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Matar is a Spanish verb meaning “to kill, slay” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Quitar la vida”.
What does matar mean in English?
verb
- 1
to kill, slay
Te van a matar, sin piedad.
- 2
to put out, extinguish (a flame or light)
- 3
to butcher
- 4
to injure, damage
- 5
to fatigue, exhaust, tire out
- 6
to dull (render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish)
- 7
to round off
- 8
to ruin
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Quitar la vida. 2. Ocasionar la muerte. 3. Destruir algo inmaterial. 4. Acabar con la paciencia de alguien.
verb: 1. Proceder a la matanza del cerdo.
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 matar
- mato first-person present singular
- maté first-person preterite singular
- matado participle past
- matando gerund
- matada feminine participle past
- matados masculine participle past
- matadas feminine participle past
- matas indicative informal present
- matás indicative informal present
- mata indicative present singular
- matamos first-person indicative plural
- matáis indicative plural present
- matan indicative plural present
- mataba first-person imperfect indicative
- matabas imperfect indicative second-person
- matábamos first-person imperfect indicative
- matabais imperfect indicative plural
- mataban imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce matar?
- /maˈtaɾ/
- [maˈt̪aɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to matar
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is matar in Spanish?
matar appears 63 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).