arrancar
to pull, to yank
Reviewed by: David WestfallCofounder
A versatile verb built around the core idea of pulling
Encoding Strategies:
repetition
visual
Arrancar means to pull or to yank. Nearly all of its uses connect back to this idea of forceful removal or the sudden motion that comes with it.
arrancar
to pull, to yank, to rip out
To forcefully pull something away from where it is attached or rooted.
- El dentista tuvo que arrancarle una muela = The dentist had to pull out one of his molars
- El viento arrancó el cartel de la pared = The wind yanked the sign off the wall
to start, to start up
To start certain types of engines, like a lawnmower or a chainsaw, you literally pull a cord. This yanking of the cord then generalized to refer to "starting" in general.
- No consigo arrancar el coche con este frío = I can't get the car started in this cold
- Al oír la noticia, arrancó a llorar = Upon hearing the news, she started to cry
to extract, to get out of
Just as you can physically pull something out, you can figuratively pull something out of someone (e.g. a confession, a laugh, a secret).
- Le arrancó una confesión después de horas de interrogatorio = He extracted a confession after hours of interrogation (he pulled out a confession)
- Lo único que quería era arrancarle una sonrisa = All he wanted was to get a smile out of her (he pulled out a smile)
to stem from, to originate from
When you yank a plant out of the ground, you expose its roots — where it comes from. This image is what gave 'arrancar' the sense of stemming from or originating from something.
- Todos sus problemas arrancan de su infancia = All his problems stem from his childhood
- La tradición arranca en el siglo XVI = The tradition originates from the sixteenth century
arrancarse
to pull out, to pull off
To pull something off or out of yourself.
- Estaba tan nerviosa que se arrancaba el pelo = She was so nervous she was pulling her hair out (she pulled the hair out of herself)
- Se arrancó la venda del brazo = He pulled the bandage off his arm