alcanzar
transitive verb
1 (en carrera) [+persona] (llegar a la altura de) to catch up (with)
la alcancé cuando salía por la puerta I caught up with her o I caught her up just as she was going out of the door; están a punto de alcanzar al grupo de cabeza they are about to catch (up with) the leading group; dentro de poco alcanzará a su padre en altura he'll soon be as tall as his father
[+ladrón, autobús, tren] to catch no nos alcanzarán nunca they'll never catch us
2 (llegar a) [+cima, límite, edad] to reach
por fin alcanzaron la cima they finally reached the summit
alcanzó las cajas con un palo she reached the boxes with a stick; puede alcanzar una velocidad de 200km/h it can reach speeds of up to 200km/h; alcanzó el rango de general he reached the rank of general; la producción ha alcanzado las 20 toneladas production has reached 20 tons; el libro ha alcanzado ya las seis ediciones the book is already in its sixth edition; las montañas alcanzan los 5.000m the mountains rise to 5,000m; el termómetro llegó a alcanzar los cuarenta grados temperatures rose as high as forty degrees
alcanzar la mayoría de edad to come of age
alcanzó la orilla a nado he made it to the shore by swimming; he swam back to the shore
no llegó a alcanzar la pubertad he never made it as far as puberty
3 (conseguir) [+acuerdo] to reach; [+éxito, objetivo] to achieve
el acuerdo fue alcanzado tras muchos meses de conversaciones the agreement was reached after many months of talks
las expectativas no se corresponden con los resultados alcanzados the expectations are out of proportion with the results that have been achieved
alcanzar la fama to find fame; become famous
alcanzar la paz to achieve peace
4 (afectar) to affect
el cambio nos alcanzará a todos the change will affect us all; una ley que alcanza sobre todo a los jubilados a law which mainly affects o hits pensioners
5 [+bala] to hit
uno de los dos disparos alcanzó al presidente the president was hit by one of the two shots; la lancha fue alcanzada por un obús the launch was hit by a shell
intransitive verb
1 (llegar) to reach;a, hasta as far as
no alcanzo I can't reach; no alcanzaba al timbre she couldn't reach (as far as) the doorbell
hasta donde alcanza la vista as far as the eye can see
2
alcanzar a hacer algo to manage to do sth
no alcancé a verlo I didn't manage to see him; no alcanzo a ver cómo pudo suceder I can't see how it can have happened
no alcanzo a comprender sus razones I just can't understand her reasons
