despegar
verbCEFR B1
What does “despegar” mean in English?
1.to take off
to take off (of an aircraft); to become airborne
2.to peel off, to unstick
to peel off, to unstick (a sticker, tape, or surface); to detach from
Example sentences
El avión no pudo despegar porque uno de los motores había dado señales de alerta durante el rodaje y el piloto decidió volver al terminal para una revisión técnica.
The plane could not take off because one of the engines had shown warning signals during taxiing and the pilot decided to return to the terminal for a technical check.
Nos dijeron que el vuelo despegaría en cuanto la torre de control diera el permiso, pero llevábamos ya dos horas esperando en la pista sin ninguna información.
We were told the flight would take off as soon as the control tower gave permission, but we had already been waiting on the runway for two hours with no information.
How to use it
Despegar means 'to take off' for aircraft (also 'to unstick' or 'to peel off' in everyday usage — the context disambiguates). In travel contexts it is always intransitive with the aircraft as subject: 'el avión despegó a las nueve'. The noun is despegue (take-off). Spelling: despegar keeps g before a/o (despega, despegó) but shifts to gu before e: despegue (present subjunctive, also the noun 'take-off').
Common mistake
Do not confuse with salir (to depart) — salir refers to the time of departure from the gate, while despegar is the precise moment the aircraft lifts off the runway. Airline boards show salida (departure); technical discussion uses despegue.