What does espera in Spanish mean?

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

The word espera in Spanish means wait, respite, stay, hunt, wait for, wait, hope, wait for, wait until, waiting for, waiting case, bar rest, waiting period, holding pattern, pregnancy, waiting is unbearable, on hold, on standby, wait for, be waiting to, wait for to, with child, the wait is killing me, waiting list, call on hold, arrangement with creditors, waiting room, is expected to, are expected to, wait time, waiting time. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word espera

wait

nombre femenino (algo en el tiempo)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Estamos a la espera de noticias.
ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. We're in for a long wait with such snowy conditions.

respite, stay

nombre femenino (plazo) (law)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
El juez decretó una espera de tres meses antes de ejecutar la hipoteca.
The judge issued a three month respite on the mortgage.

hunt

nombre femenino (puesto de caza)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
El cazador estuvo toda la tarde en la espera pero no cazó nada.
He was on the hunt all night but did not kill anything.

wait for

verbo transitivo (aguardar algo, a alguien)

Los niños están esperando el autobús. Llevo una hora esperando a mi hermano.
The children are waiting for the bus. I've been waiting for my brother for an hour.

wait

verbo intransitivo (aguardar)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
¿Dónde estabas? ¡Hemos esperado veinte minutos!
Where were you? We've been waiting twenty minutes!

hope

verbo transitivo (confiar, tener esperanza)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Los desempleados esperan encontrar trabajo muy pronto. La familia del enfermo espera que este tratamiento funcione.
The unemployed hope to find work very soon. The patient's family hopes that the treatment works.

wait for, wait until

(aguardar antes de actuar)

Esperen a que les dé la orden para comenzar el examen.
Wait until I give you the go-ahead to start the exam.

waiting for

locución preposicional (hasta que suceda)

El país entero está a la espera de un cambio en las políticas del Gobierno.
The whole country is waiting for a change of government policies.

waiting case

locución nominal femenina (der: acción esperando inicio)

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

bar rest

locución nominal masculina (silencio musical) (music)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Tienes varios compases de espera en esta partitura que faltan en la otra.

waiting period, holding pattern

locución nominal masculina (figurado (asunto: detención breve)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Estamos ahora en un compás de espera, no sabremos nada hasta el lunes.

pregnancy

(coloquial (período del embarazo)

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

waiting is unbearable

expresión (esperar es difícil)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Busca algo para hacer porque el que espera desespera.
Look for something to do because waiting is unbearable.

on hold, on standby

locución adjetiva (aplazado)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
El Ministerio tiene cuatro proyectos en espera por falta de presupuesto.
The Ministry has four projects on hold due to lack of funding.

wait for

locución preposicional (aguardando algo)

Los candidatos quedaron en espera de noticias sobre su contratación.
The candidates were waiting for news concerning their hiring.

be waiting to

locución conjuntiva (aguardando una acción)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Sigo en espera de reunir suficiente dinero para viajar.
I'm still waiting to get enough money together to travel.

wait for to

locución conjuntiva (aguardando una acción) (followed by infinitive)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Estamos en espera de que nuestros clientes acepten las condiciones del acuerdo.
We are waiting for our clients to accept the conditions of the agreement.

with child

locución adjetiva (a la espera de un bebé)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
Las mujeres en la dulce espera deben ser muy cuidadosas con su salud. Este médico presta servicios especiales a parejas en la dulce espera.

the wait is killing me

expresión (impaciencia desmedida)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

waiting list

nombre femenino (medicina: para ser atendido)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La lista de espera para un riñón es muy larga.
The waiting list for a kidney is very long.

call on hold

(llamada en reserva)

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

arrangement with creditors

locución nominal femenina (derecho: beneficio de deudor insolvente)

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

waiting room

locución nominal femenina (vestíbulo, recibidor)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Los pacientes aguardan su turno en la sala de espera del consultorio.
Patients wait their turn in the clinic's waiting room.

is expected to, are expected to

expresión (se confía en que)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Se espera que todos los alumnos sean puntuales.
All students are expected to be on time.

wait time, waiting time

(período de demora)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La aerolínea busca reducir el tiempo de espera de los pasajeros antes de cada vuelo.
The airline wants to reduce waiting times for passengers before each flight.

Let's learn Spanish

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