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abordar

Spanish, verb/aboɾˈdaɾ/

abordar is a Spanish verb meaning “to address, to broach, to approach, to discuss, to touch on (e.g. a subject, issue, topic, point)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Tocar una embarcación con otra, o con un muelle o embarcadero”.

What does abordar mean in English?

verb

  1. 1

    to address, to broach, to approach, to discuss, to touch on (e.g. a subject, issue, topic, point)

  2. 2

    to tackle, to deal with, to confront, to approach, to grapple with (e.g. a problem, a challenge)

  3. 3

    to accost, to waylay

  4. 4

    to board (to enter a boat)

  5. 5

    to address

  6. 6

    to be addressed, to be tackled, to be taken up, to be approached, to be treated, to be considered, to be dealt with, to be handled, to be discussed

Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How Spanish dictionaries define it

verb: 1. Tocar una embarcación con otra, o con un muelle o embarcadero. 2. En especial, abordar₁ con la intención de tomar por la fuerza. 3. Entrar a una embarcación o, por extensión, a otro medio de transporte. 4. Aproximarse a una persona o institución para hacer una pregunta, iniciar un diálogo o tratar un asunto.

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 abordar

  • abordo first-person present singular
  • abordé first-person preterite singular
  • abordado participle past
  • abordando gerund
  • abordada feminine participle past
  • abordados masculine participle past
  • abordadas feminine participle past
  • abordas indicative informal present
  • abordás indicative informal present
  • aborda indicative present singular
  • abordamos first-person indicative plural
  • abordáis indicative plural present
  • abordan indicative plural present
  • abordaba first-person imperfect indicative
  • abordabas imperfect indicative second-person
  • abordábamos first-person imperfect indicative
  • abordabais imperfect indicative plural
  • abordaban imperfect indicative plural

Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).

How do you pronounce abordar?

  • /aboɾˈdaɾ/
  • [a.β̞oɾˈð̞aɾ]
  • [aβ̞oɾˈð̞aɾ]

Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.

English words that translate to abordar

Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.

How common is abordar in Spanish?

abordar appears 10 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).