encaixar

From en- +‎ caixa +‎ -ar.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əŋ.kəˈʃa]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [eŋ.kajˈʃaɾ]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

encaixar (first-person singular present encaixo, first-person singular preterite encaixí, past participle encaixat)

1. (intransitive) to fit
2. (transitive) to enclose
3. (intransitive) to shake hands

• “encaixar”, 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
• “encaixar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “encaixar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “encaixar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Attested since the 15th century. From en- (“in”) +‎ caixa (“box”).

• IPA^(key): /eŋkajˈʃaɾ/

encaixar (first-person singular present encaixo, first-person singular preterite encaixei, past participle encaixado)

1. to set, embed, enchase
   • 1426, Antonio López Ferreiro (ed.), Historia de la Santa A. M. Iglesia de Santiago de Compostela, XI, nº Adicións-1.1, pages 79-92:

     Primeyramente a cabeça de Santiago con sua diadema et dous garfeos de plata que a apertan quando a tragen porla egresia, con hun colar daljofar; ena qual cabeça estan certas pedras encaixadas, et esta mays ena dita cabeça hua cuncha, cuberta ençima toda daljofar.

     First, the head of Saint James and his diadem and two silver forks that tighten it when they bring it about the church, with a collar of pearls; in which head there are certain stones embeded, and it is also on this head a shell, totally covered in pearls

   Synonym: engastar

2. to fit
3. to deliver
   • 1807, anonymous author, Primeiro diálogo dos esterqueiros:

     A cada berro que daba
     ibame seando atrás
     p[o]r se acaso me encaixaba
     un sopapo da sua man:

     For each shout he gave
     I was moving back
     in case he delivered me
     a smack of his hand

• encaixe

• caixa

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “encaixar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “encaix”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “encaixar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “encaixar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “encaixar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

• “encaixar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• “encaixar” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).

• encayxar (obsolete)

From en- +‎ caixa (“box”) +‎ -ar.

encaixar (first-person singular present encaixo, first-person singular preterite encaixei, past participle encaixado)

1. to fit (to conform to in size and shape)

   Peças de quebra-cabeça se encaixam.

   Jigsaw pieces fit each other.

2. to fit (to attach, especially when requiring exact positioning or sizing)

   Encaixei uma peça no encaixe.

   I fit a piece into the slot.

3. (soccer, of a goalkeeper) to catch the football and hold it tightly

• (antonym(s) of “to fit”): desencaixar

• caber