quitar
transitive verb
1 (sacar) (gen) to remove; [+ropa, zapatos] to take off; [+póster, estantes] to take down
le quitaron las vendas they took her bandages off; they removed her bandages; tardaron dos días en quitar los escombros it took two days to clear o remove the rubble; quitaron las banderas de los balcones they took the flags down from the balconies; they removed the flags from the balconies; quita eso de allí get that away from there
querían quitarle de su puesto they wanted to remove him from his post
quitar la mesa to clear the table
quitar de en medio a algn to get rid of sb
no quitarle ojo a algn not to take one's eyes off sb
2 (arrebatar) (gen) to take away; (para robar) to take; steal; [+vida] to take
su hermana le quitó la pelota his sister took the ball away from him; me quitaron la licencia I had my licence taken away
le quitaron la cartera en el tren someone took his wallet on the train; he had his wallet stolen on the train; me quitó la novia he stole my girlfriend
quitar el sitio a algn to steal sb's place
3 (eliminar) [+mancha] to remove; get rid of; [+dolor] to relieve; stop; [+felicidad, ilusión, ganas] to take away; [+preocupaciones, temores] to allay
me quitó las ganas de comer it took my appetite away; trataba de quitarme esa idea de la cabeza she tried to make me change my mind
quitar el hambre
un par de rodajas deben quitar el hambre a couple of slices should stop you feeling hungry; no alimenta mucho, pero quita el hambre it's not very nutritious, but it's filling
quitar la sed to quench one's thirst
el vino no quita la sed wine doesn't quench your thirst; wine isn't thirst-quenching
quitar el sueño
el café me quita el sueño coffee stops me sleeping; ese asunto no me quita el sueño I'm not losing any sleep over that matter
4 (restar)
no quita nada de su valor it does not detract at all from its value; no le quiero quitar méritos I don't want to detract from him
eso le quita la razón that shows he's wrong; that proves him wrong
quiero quitar unos cuantos centímetros a mi cintura I want to lose a few centimetres from around the waist; me quita mucho tiempo it takes up a lot of my time; quitar extensión a un campo to reduce the size of a field
quitar importancia a algo to play sth down
quitando el postre comimos bien apart o aside from the dessert we had a good meal
quitando tres o cuatro, van a ir todos except for three or four (people), everybody is going
intransitive verb
¡quita!, ¡quita de ahí! (¡aparta!) get out of the way!; (¡qué va!) get away!; come off it!
eso no quita
eso no quita para que me ayudes that doesn't stop o prevent you helping me; that doesn't mean you can't help me; eso no quita que eche de menos a mi mujer that doesn't mean I don't miss my wife
ni quito ni pongo I'm neutral; I'm not saying one thing or the other
pronominal verb
quitarse1 (apartarse)
¡quítate de ahí! ¡quítate de en medio! get out of the way!
¡quítate de mi vista! get out of my sight!; me quito (And) I'm off; I must be going
2 (desaparecer) [+dolor] to go; go away; [+mancha] to come out
esa mancha de vino no se quita that wine stain won't come out
3 (acabarse)
se me quitan las ganas de ir I don't feel like going now; se me quitaron las ganas de viajar I no longer felt like travelling
4 (sacarse) [+ropa, zapatos] to take off; [+barba] to shave; [+lentillas] to take out
quitarse años: te has quitado diez años (de encima) you look ten years younger; no te quites años don't lie about your age; quitarse la preocupación to stop worrying; quitarse una muela to have a tooth out
quitarse algo/a algn de encima to get rid of sth/sb; ¡ya me he quitado de encima el coche viejo! at last I've got rid of the old car!; ¡no me la puedo quitar de encima! I can't get rid of her!; ¡qué peso nos hemos quitado de encima! what a relief!; that's a real weight off our minds!
