incumplir
verbCEFR B2
What does “incumplir” mean in English?
to breach, to fail to meet
to breach, to fail to meet (incumplir un plazo/contrato — formal term for failure to honour an obligation with potential consequences)
Example sentences
Si el proveedor incumple el plazo de entrega, el cliente tiene derecho a exigir una compensación.
If the supplier fails to meet the delivery deadline, the client has the right to demand compensation.
El incumplimiento del contrato por parte de la empresa podría acarrear consecuencias legales significativas.
The company's breach of contract could have significant legal consequences.
Queremos dejar constancia de que no incumplimos ninguno de los plazos acordados en el proyecto.
We want to put on record that we did not miss any of the deadlines agreed in the project.
How to use it
Incumplir means 'to fail to meet' or 'to breach' — used for deadlines, contracts, commitments, and obligations. Pattern: incumplir un plazo / un contrato / un acuerdo. It is the formal opposite of cumplir. In legal and contractual contexts: incumplimiento de contrato (breach of contract) is the key noun phrase. Register: formal-legal; used in formal correspondence, contracts, and professional accountability language. Note: incumplir is stronger than no cumplir — it implies a failure to honour an obligation, with potential consequences.
Common mistake
Incumplir ≠ no cumplir in register: no cumplir is neutral (just didn't do it); incumplir is more formal and implies a breach of an obligation that had binding force. In a contract dispute, use incumplir; in casual speech, no cumplir is fine. The noun incumplimiento is essential for legal and formal B2 texts — learners often default to *'fallo en cumplir' which sounds unnatural in formal Spanish.