bajar
verbCEFR B2
What does “bajar” mean in English?
to lower, to reduce
to lower, to reduce (bajar los tipos de interés/el precio — bring a level, rate, or value down)
Example sentences
La entidad bancaria decidió bajar los tipos de interés para estimular el crédito al consumo.
The banking institution decided to lower interest rates to stimulate consumer credit.
Los precios del carburante han bajado por segunda semana consecutiva gracias al descenso en los mercados internacionales.
Fuel prices have fallen for the second consecutive week thanks to a decline in international markets.
Le pidieron que bajara el tono de sus declaraciones públicas para no agravar la tensión diplomática.
He was asked to lower the tone of his public statements so as not to worsen diplomatic tension.
How to use it
Bajar means 'to lower', 'to go down', or 'to reduce'. At B2, the economic/regulatory sense is important: bajar los tipos de interés (lower interest rates), bajar los precios (reduce prices), bajar el tono (lower the tone — literal or figurative). It is also intransitive: los precios han bajado (prices have come down). Don't confuse with reducir (reduce — more formal, strategic) or disminuir (decrease — neutral, often gradual). Bajar is the everyday/neutral verb; reducir is more formal/intentional.
Common mistake
Bajar (everyday/neutral — go down, reduce) vs. reducir (formal/deliberate — reduce strategically). A government puede bajar or reducir impuestos (can lower or reduce taxes) — bajar is more colloquial. In technical/policy writing, reducir is preferred. 'Los precios han bajado' (prices have come down) is standard; *'los precios han reducido' without an object is incorrect.