abalanzarse
/abalanˈθaɾse/
The English verb 'swoop' is translated into Spanish as abalanzarse.
Abalanzarse describes the action of flying downwards suddenly. If you want to describe the act of accomplishing something swiftly and effectively, you can use the idiomatic expression de un plumazo.
Meaning: to fly downwards suddenly (verb)
Which one should you use?
Abalanzarse is used when describing a predator or a person lunging, whereas picado refers specifically to the aerodynamic movement of a bird or an aircraft in a steep descent.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Argentina, the word afanar is used as slang to describe quickly taking something.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When using abalanzarse to mean swooping down on or pouncing on a target, it is typically used with the preposition sobre (e.g., abalanzarse sobre).
How do you pronounce it?
/abalanˈθaɾse/
Did you know?
- If you want to describe a bird swooping in a dive rather than a person lunging, you should use picado. This comes from pico, the word for a bird's 'beak', implying the bird is diving beak-first.
- The word abalanzarse shares a root with the word 'lanzar', which means 'to throw'. When you use it, you are metaphorically describing a person or animal throwing their entire weight forward toward a target.
- The idiomatic expression de un plumazo uses the word for 'feather' to describe doing something in one swoop, such as canceling a project with a single signature.
Examples in context
- El águila arrebató a su presa de un solo movimientoThe eagle snatched its prey in one swift swoop
- Mi perro agarró la comida de sopetónMy dog snatched the food in one swoop
- El halcón suele abalanzarse desde las alturas.The falcon tends to swoop down from high up.
- Vimos al búho abalanzarse entre los árboles.We saw the owl swoop down among the trees.
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are watching a nature documentary together.
- DanielMira cómo el ave va a abalanzarse.Look how the bird is going to swoop down.
- SofíaEs impresionante verla abalanzarse así.It is impressive to see it swoop down like that.
- DanielSofía, es muy rápido su movimiento.Sofía, its movement is very fast.
- SofíaSí, es un cazador increíble.Yes, it is an incredible hunter.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry abalanzarse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
