altura
height
How tall something is or how high up it is
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
visual
alto
high
+
-ura
noun suffix
Altura means height and is literally alto0 turned into a noun with -ura1: the "high-ness" of something, as in the related English word "altitude."
altura
height, altitude
The "high-ness" of something: how tall it is, or how high up it is.
La pared tiene tres metros de alturaThe wall is three meters in height
El avión vuela a una altura de diez mil metrosThe plane flies at an altitude of ten thousand meters
a la altura de
at the level of, level with, near
Locates something as level with a reference point: at its literal height ("a la altura de los ojos" = at eye level), or side by side, the way a runner pulls level with another ("a la altura del mercado" = level with the market, so right beside it).
La pantalla debe estar a la altura de los ojosThe screen should be at the level of your eyes
El autobús se descompuso a la altura del mercadoThe bus broke down near the market
estar a la altura
to measure up, to rise to the occasion
To be at the height a situation demands, like an English performance "measuring up" or "rising" to the occasion.
El equipo no estuvo a la altura del desafíoThe team didn't measure up to the challenge
Cuando todo salió mal, ella estuvo a la alturaWhen everything went wrong, she rose to the occasion
a estas alturas
at this point, by now
Used when a situation is already well underway and you're commenting on where things stand. Literally "at these heights": how far things have climbed.
A estas alturas, ya no podemos cambiar el planAt this point, we can no longer change the plan
A estas alturas ya deberías saber la respuestaBy now you should know the answer