atracar

Uncertain. Perhaps from Italian straccare or from Arabic تَرَقَّى (taraqqā, “to advance”).

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ə.tɾəˈka]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.tɾaˈkaɾ]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

atracar (first-person singular present atraco, first-person singular preterite atraquí, past participle atracat)

1. (nautical) to moor, berth

   Synonyms: acostar, atansar

2. (transitive) to hold up, mug
3. (reflexive) to stuff oneself, to cram oneself (de with)

   Synonym: afartar-se

• “atracar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

From Arabic تَرَقَّى (taraqqā, “to advance”), possibly with the a- prefix.

atracar (first-person singular present atraco, first-person singular preterite atraquei, past participle atracado)

1. (nautical) to moor, berth

• “atracar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “atracar”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “atracar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Derived from Arabic تَرَقَّى (taraqqā, “to advance”), possibly with the a- prefix.

• IPA^(key): /atɾaˈkaɾ/ [a.t̪ɾaˈkaɾ]

• Audio (Costa Rica):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧tra‧car

atracar (first-person singular present atraco, first-person singular preterite atraqué, past participle atracado)

1. (nautical) to berth, moor

   Synonym: amarrar

   • 2023 December 4, Clara Blanchar, Dani Cordero, “Barcelona supera este año los tres millones de cruceristas, y aumentan solo los que hacen escala”, in El País‎^[1]:

     Mientras, los que utilizan Barcelona como puerto base (zarpan o atracan en el puerto), aumentan un 6,6% hasta 1,7 millones.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. to assault in order to rob
3. (Chile, colloquial) to make out (kiss, touch erotically)
4. (Latin America) to harass
5. (Latin America) to beat, bash
6. (Caribbean) to park (a car)
7. (Latin America) to stuff (eat and drink in excess)
8. (Cuba, Costa Rica) to fraud

• “atracar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “atracar”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010