What does adelante in Spanish mean?

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

The word adelante in Spanish means forwards, forward, ahead, come in, come on, Come on!, overtake, pass, advance, improve, progress, advance, be fast, be gaining, hurry up, come early, anticipate, broke, take a step forward, from now on, from here on out, from this point forward, from now on, from here on out, ahead, walk in front, be in front, carry out, later, later on, further on, ahead, up ahead, get off the ground, provide for, move forward, forward leap, carry on, ever onward. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word adelante

forwards, forward

adverbio (hacia el frente)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
El niño dio un paso adelante.
The boy took a step forwards.

ahead

adverbio (más allá)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Las tropas no pudieron ir adelante porque encontraron una muralla impenetrable.
The troops couldn't press ahead because they came up against an impenetrable wall.

come in

interjección (pase, entre)

(interjection: Exclamation--for example, "Oh no!" "Wow!")
—¿Puedo pasar? —¡Adelante!
"Can I come in?" "Yes, come in."

come on

interjección (siga, avance)

(interjection: Exclamation--for example, "Oh no!" "Wow!")
¡Adelante! ¡No os paréis!
Come on! No stopping!

Come on!

interjección (ánimo, vamos)

(interjection: Exclamation--for example, "Oh no!" "Wow!")
¡Adelante! No te rindas.
Come on! Don't give up!

overtake, pass

verbo transitivo (pasar adelante)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Me ha adelantado un camión.
I've been overtaken (or: passed) by a lorry.

advance

verbo transitivo (pagos, dinero)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El banco me adelantó la pensión porque necesitaba el dinero.
The bank advanced me my pension because I needed the money.

improve, progress, advance

verbo intransitivo (progresar, avanzar)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
La medicina ha adelantado mucho los últimos años.
ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. My daughter is coming on nicely at primary school.

be fast, be gaining

verbo intransitivo (marcar hora avanzada)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Todavía no son las cinco; tu reloj adelanta.
It's not five o'clock yet; your watch must be fast.

hurry up

verbo pronominal (ganar en velocidad)

(phrasal verb, intransitive: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning and not taking direct object--for example, "make up" [=reconcile]: "After they fought, they made up.")
Adelántate y ve preparando la cena.
Hurry up and start making dinner.

come early

verbo pronominal (anticiparse)

Este año se adelantó la temporada de lluvias.
The rainy season came early this year.

anticipate

(actuar con anticipación)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Mi secretaria siempre se adelanta a mis necesidades: no sé qué haría sin ella.
My secretary always anticipates my needs: I don't know what I would do without her.

broke

locución adverbial (coloquial (sin dinero, sin recursos)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
Será mejor que empecemos a reducir tus gastos porque este mes vamos a quedar con una mano adelante y otra atrás.

take a step forward

locución verbal (avanzar, progresar)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Debemos dar un paso adelante e invertir en otros negocios.
We should take a step forward and invest in other businesses.

from now on

locución adverbial (a partir de)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
De ahora en adelante, trabajaremos los fines de semana.
From now on we will work on weekends.

from here on out, from this point forward

locución adverbial (a partir de este momento)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
De aquí en adelante voy a estudiar todos los días.
From here on out, I am going to study everyday.

from now on

locución adverbial (a partir de hoy)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
De hoy en adelante no te vuelvo a prestar dinero.

from here on out

locución adverbial (a partir de ahora)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Los ricos pagarán más impuestos en adelante.
The rich will pay more taxes from this point forward.

ahead

locución adverbial (hacia el frente)

(preposition: Relates noun or pronoun to another element of sentence--for example, "a picture of John," "She walked from my house to yours.")
Tienes que ir hacia adelante cien metros más. El capitán miraba hacia delante esperando ver tierra firme.
You have to go ahead a hundred meters further.

walk in front

(al caminar)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
¿Por qué siempre vas adelante cuando caminamos?

be in front

(llevar la delantera)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
El otro corredor va adelante, pero no por mucho.

carry out

(sacar a flote)

(phrasal verb, transitive, separable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, divisible--for example, "call off" [=cancel], "call the game off," "call off the game.")
Aunque parecía que iban a fracasar, los directores lograron llevar adelante su plan para salvar la empresa.
Although it seemed like they were going to go under, the directors managed to carry out their plan to save the business.

later, later on

locución adverbial (dentro de un tiempo)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Si no dejas el mal hábito de gritarle a todo el mundo, te arrepentirás más adelante.
If you don't give up your bad habit of shouting at everyone, you will regret it later on.

further on, ahead, up ahead

locución adverbial (más allá)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
El autobús no podía continuar porque había un camión averiado más adelante.
The bus couldn't go any further because of a broken-down lorry up ahead.

get off the ground

locución verbal (un proyecto, trabajo) (figurative)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Sacamos adelante el proyecto gracias al esfuerzo de todos.
We're getting the project off the ground thanks to the efforts of everybody.

provide for

locución verbal (los hijos, la familia)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Trabajando día y noche sacó adelante a los suyos.
She provided for her family by working day and night.

move forward

(superar la situación)

(phrasal verb, intransitive: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning and not taking direct object--for example, "make up" [=reconcile]: "After they fought, they made up.")
Con mucho esfuerzo, María salió adelante y superó todos los problemas que tuvo en esa época.
With great effort, Maria moved on and overcame all the problems she had at the time.

forward leap

(figurado (avance)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

carry on

(continuar)

A pesar de los problemas que surgieron, el equipo siguió adelante y consiguió excelentes resultados.
In spite of the problems that occurred, the team carried on and achieved excellent results.

ever onward

expresión (ánimo para seguir)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
¡Siempre adelante, no dejemos que una derrota nos ponga mal!
Ever onward, let us not let a defeat get us down!

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of adelante 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.