matar

Most likely from Latin mactāre (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattāre, from Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus.

• IPA^(key): /maˈta(ɾ)/
• Syllabification: ma‧tar
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

matar

1. (transitive) to kill

• Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002) “matar”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN

Most likely from Latin mactāre (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattāre, from Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus.

• IPA^(key): /maˈtaɾ/ [maˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: ma‧tar

matar (first-person singular indicative present mato, past participle matáu)

1. to kill

• matar

Most likely from Latin mactāre (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattāre, from Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [məˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [maˈtaɾ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

matar (first-person singular present mato, first-person singular preterite matí, past participle matat)

1. to kill

   Synonym: (formal) occir

2. to extinguish

   Synonyms: extingir, apagar

The past participle can optionally be mort.

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

matar

1. second/third-person singular present of mata

From Old Galician-Portuguese matar, most likely from Latin mactāre (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattāre, from Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus.

• IPA^(key): /maˈtaɾ/ [maˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: ma‧tar

matar (first-person singular present mato, first-person singular preterite matei, past participle matado, short past participle morto)

1. (transitive) to kill
2. (pronominal) to accidentally kill oneself
3. (pronominal) to commit suicide

   Synonym: suicidar

4. (pronominal, figurative) to kill oneself (exert oneself)

   Non te mates a barrer as follas agora; esta noite vai ventar. ― Don't kill yourself raking the leaves now; we're due for a windstorm tonight.

5. (transitive) to extinguish, turn off, quench

   Synonym: apagar

• matachín
• matadoiro
• matador

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “matar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “matar”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “matar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “matar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “matar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “matar” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “matar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Inherited from Old Spanish.

matar

1. to kill

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *mattāre, from Latin mactāre.

matar

1. (transitive) to kill
2. (transitive, figurative) to harm
3. (pronominal) to commit suicide

• Galician: matar
• Portuguese: matar

• Manuel Ferreiro (2014–2025) “matar”, in Universo Cantigas. Edición crítica da poesía medieval galego-portuguesa (in Galician), A Coruña: University of A Coruña, →ISSN

• mattar (obsolete)
• matá (eye dialect, Brazil)

From Old Galician-Portuguese matar, probably from Latin mactāre (through Vulgar Latin *mattāre). The development of -ct- would be irregular, however. Hence possibly derived from or influenced by Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus. Another possibility is an influence by Arabic مَاتَ (māta, “to die”).^[1]

The short past participle is derived from Latin morīre, an unrelated verb that means "to die."

• Hyphenation: ma‧tar

matar (first-person singular present mato, first-person singular preterite matei, past participle matado, short past participle morto)

2. (transitive) to kill (to cause to die)

   Synonym: assassinar

   Mataram-no a tiros! ― They shot him dead! (literally, “[They] killed him with gunshots!”)

   A geada matará a plantação. ― The frost will kill the crop.

   • 1890, Aluizio Azevedo, O Cortiço, Rio de Janeiro: B. L. Garnier:

     Além disso, como?... Sim, como poderia despachá-la, sem deixar sinais comprometedores do crime?... Envenenando-a?... Dariam logo pela coisa! Matá-la a tiro?... Pior!

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2005, Bill Diffenderffer, O Líder Samurai, Elsevier Brasil, →ISBN, page 22:

     No entanto, ao saber que a mulher que estava no palanquim era a esposa de um nobre, o Senhor Nagato ordenou seu servidor que praticasse o seppuku (hara-kiri, ou seja, matar a si próprio enfiando uma faca no abdômen).

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

4. (figurative, transitive) to kill; to eradicate; to destroy

   Synonyms: erradicar, destruir, acabar com

   Matou-lhe as esperanças ― He killed his hopes.

6. (figurative, informal, transitive) to kill (to cause extreme pain, distress or exhaustion in)

   Synonyms: acabar com, detonar, quebrar, arrebentar

   Minhas pernas estão me matando ― My legs are killing me!

   Essas palavras matam! ― These words kill!

8. (transitive) to kill (to write a story that conveys the death of)

   Hobbes matara o positivismo acerca da revolução. ― Hobbes had killed the positivism surrounding the revolution.

10. (figurative, transitive) to satisfy, to satiate, to quench (to fulfil an emotional or physiological need)

    Synonyms: saciar, satisfazer

    Antes de matar meu desejo de caminhar, preciso matar minha sede. ― Before I satisfy my desire to walk, I need to quench my thirst.

12. (reflexive) to commit suicide

    Synonym: suicidar

    Ela matou-se com a faca. ― She killed herself with the knife.

14. (figurative, reflexive) to break one's back (to make a great effort)

    Synonym: arrebentar-se

    O homem se matava para sustentar a família. ― The man broke his back providing for his family.

16. (colloquial, transitive) to spend [a period of time] doing unimportant things

    Synonym: passar

    A escola ficou fechada hoje; tive o dia inteiro para matar. ― School was closed today; I had the entire day to goof around.

18. (Brazil, slang, transitive) to skip (not to be present in a class)

    Synonym: faltar

    Os alunos mataram a aula de geografia. ― The students skipped geography class.

20. (informal, transitive) to solve (to find the solution to a mystery)

    Synonyms: resolver, solucionar

    Finalmente matei a charada. ― I have finally solved the riddle.

22. (Brazil, slang, transitive) to consume something entirely (especially an alcoholic drink); to knock down

    Matamos uns cascos para relaxar. ― We knocked down a few forties to relax.

24. (sports, transitive) to stop a moving ball

    Synonym: parar

    Passei de longe para o atacante, que matou a bola no peito. ― I passed the ball to the striker from a distance; he then stopped it with his chest.

26. (cue sports, transitive) to pocket (to cause a ball to go into one of the pockets of the table)

    Synonym: encaçapar

    Ela sempre mata duas ou três bolas na primeira tacada. ― She always pockets two or three balls with the first strike.

• “matar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “matar”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
• “matar” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “matar”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “matar”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “matar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

• IPA^(key): /mâtar/
• Hyphenation: ma‧tar

mȁtar m inan (Cyrillic spelling ма̏тар)

1. alternative form of mȍtar (“sea fennel”)

• amatar (obsolete)

Several possibilities:

• From Latin mactāre (through a Vulgar Latin *mattāre). Thus, a potential cognate with English mactate.^[1]
• From Vulgar Latin *mattāre, from Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus. Compare Portuguese and Catalan matar, archaic Italian mattare.^[2]
• From Spanish mazar, in turn from maza (“mace, club”); compare Italian ammazzare (“to kill”).
• From Arabic مَاتَ (māta, “to die”), compare Persian مات (mât), the probable source of the second part of English checkmate.^[3]

• IPA^(key): /maˈtaɾ/ [maˈt̪aɾ]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: ma‧tar

matar (first-person singular present mato, first-person singular preterite maté, past participle matado)

1. to kill, slay
   • 2025 June 28, Sean Lyngaas, “El cártel de Sinaloa rastreó con un hacker a un funcionario del FBI y mató a posibles informantes, según Gobierno de EE.UU.”, in CNN en Español‎^[1]:

     Un cártel de droga mexicano contrató a un hacker para vigilar los movimientos de un alto funcionario del FBI en Ciudad de México en 2018 o incluso antes, recopilando información del sistema de cámaras de la ciudad que permitió al cártel matar a posibles informantes del FBI, según dijo en un nuevo informe el inspector general del Departamento de Justicia.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. to put out, extinguish (a flame or light)

   Synonyms: extinguir, apagar

3. to butcher
4. to injure, damage

   Synonyms: dañar, enfermar

5. to fatigue, exhaust, tire out

   Synonyms: fatigar, cansar

6. to dull (render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish)

   Synonyms: apagar, deslustrar, opacar

7. to round off
8. to ruin

   Synonym: arruinar

9. (colloquial) to kill (to annoy)

   Synonyms: incomodar, molestar

10. (colloquial) to kill (to get mad at)
11. (colloquial) to kill (to amaze, exceed, stun)

    Synonyms: sorprender, asombrar

12. (colloquial) to beat (to be better than)
13. to postmark

    Synonym: matasellar

14. (reflexive) to kill oneself, to commit suicide
15. (reflexive) to be killed, to meet one’s death
16. (reflexive) to become galled, to become chafed, to get sores (said of horses)
17. (reflexive) to wear oneself out

• “matar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

matar

1. present indicative of mata

• Marta, ramat