What does cerca in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word cerca in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use cerca in Spanish.

The word cerca in Spanish means nearby, near, fence, close to, around, almost, fence, gather around, siege, see up close, close up, close up, from close up, study close-up, examine up close, closer, nowhere near, nowhere near, tail, be very close to, hit home, hit a brick wall, keep a close eye on, live close to. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word cerca

nearby

adverbio (espacio: no lejos)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Mi oficina está cerca.
My office is nearby.

near

adverbio (tiempo: próximo)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Los miembros de esa secta creían que el final de los tiempos estaba cerca.
The members of the sect believed that the end of days was near.

fence

nombre femenino (vallado)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
El perro saltó la cerca y entró en el jardín.
The dog jumped over the fence into the garden.

close to

locución preposicional (espacio: proximidad)

La iglesia está cerca del ayuntamiento.
The church is close to the city hall.

around, almost

locución adverbial (aproximadamente)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
La película duró cerca de dos horas.
The movie lasted around two hours.

fence

verbo transitivo (rodear con cerca)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Es necesario cercar el rancho para evitar que se pierda el ganado.
We must fence the farm so that we don't lose any cattle.

gather around

verbo transitivo (figurado (rodear algo o alguien)

(phrasal verb, transitive, inseparable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, not divisible--for example,"go with" [=combine nicely]: "Those red shoes don't go with my dress." NOT [S]"Those red shoes don't go my dress with."[/S])
Los periodistas cercaron al actor de moda a su llegada al set de la película.
The journalists gathered around the famous actor when he arrived on the film set.

siege

verbo transitivo (poner cerco militar)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El ejército enemigo cercó el castillo para obligar al rey a capitular.
The enemy army sieged the castle to force the king into surrendering.

see up close

(de primera mano)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Para admirar las maravillas de este país, tienes que conocerlo de cerca.

close up

locución adverbial (a poca distancia)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Los niños se acercaron a la reja para ver los monos de cerca.
The children got closer to the fence to see the monkeys close up.

close up, from close up

locución adverbial (muy próximo)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Los policías seguían al ladrón desde muy cerca.

study close-up

locución verbal (revisar a fondo)

examine up close

locución verbal (ver con detalle)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Los policías examinaron de cerca la escena del crimen.
The police examined the crime scene up close.

closer

locución adverbial (más próximo)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
Necesito ver más de cerca la herida.
I need to see the injury more closely.

nowhere near

locución adverbial (coloquial (diferencia muy marcada)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Ningún ajedrecista estuvo ni cerca del nivel de Paul Morphy.

nowhere near

locución adverbial (coloquial (distinto de lo esperado)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
¡Lástima! El equipo no estuvo ni cerca de jugar como siempre.

tail

locución verbal (hacer seguimiento)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El policía siguió de cerca al sospechoso.
The police tailed the suspect.

be very close to

locución verbal (tener parentesco)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Ana toca de cerca a Juan; son hermanos.

hit home

locución verbal (afectar directamente)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Cuando la violencia la tocó de cerca exigió justicia.

hit a brick wall

locución verbal (CR, coloquial (no poder seguir)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
El proyecto iba a comenzar pero topó con cerca y fue cancelado.

keep a close eye on

locución verbal (no perder de vista)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Debo vigilar de cerca al bebé, es muy inquieto.
I must keep a close eye on the baby; he's quite restless.

live close to

locución verbal (habitar junto a)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Lucía vive cerca de la casa de su madre.
Lucia lives close to her mother's house.

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of cerca in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.