apretar (reforzar, intensificar)
verbCEFR B2
What does “apretar (reforzar, intensificar)” mean in English?
to tighten, to intensify
to tighten, to intensify (apretar — figurative: strengthen controls, regulation, or discipline)
Example sentences
El ejecutivo decidió apretar los controles internos tras el hallazgo de varias irregularidades contables.
The management decided to tighten internal controls following the discovery of several accounting irregularities.
Con el acuerdo de paz aún frágil, el gobierno decidió apretar la vigilancia en las regiones fronterizas.
With the peace agreement still fragile, the government decided to intensify surveillance in border regions.
El equipo apretó el ritmo en el segundo tiempo y logró remontar un marcador que parecía definitivo.
The team stepped up the pace in the second half and managed to overturn a scoreline that had seemed final.
How to use it
Apretar in the figurative sense means 'to tighten', 'to intensify', or 'to ramp up'. Literal: apretar un tornillo (tighten a bolt), apretar los dientes (grit one's teeth). Figurative at B2: apretar los controles (tighten controls), apretar las medidas (intensify measures), apretar el ritmo (step up the pace). The figurative sense of strengthening regulation or discipline is key. Note the stem change: aprieto, aprietas (present -ie- in stressed syllables).
Common mistake
Apretar los dientes (grit your teeth — endure stoically) is a fixed expression. Apretar as tighten controls is different from intensificar (increase intensity numerically). In spoken Spanish, apretar las tuercas (tighten the bolts figuratively) = put pressure on someone to comply — a common idiom.