aprietan

Aprietan is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Spanish verb apretar, meaning to squeeze, press, or tighten. It is used when the subject is ellos, ellas, or ustedes in present-tense statements. The form appears across dialects of Spanish, including both Spain and Latin America, and is commonly found in everyday speech as well as written text.

In practical use, aprietan can describe physical actions or tightenings performed by a group. For example: Ellos aprietan las tuercas con la llave. This sentence means they tighten the nuts with a wrench. Metaphorically, the verb can express pressure or coercion, as in situations where social, economic, or political pressure is applied: La presión aprieta a la audiencia, or La situación aprieta a las familias. The flexibility of apretar allows both concrete and figurative contexts to be conveyed with the same verb form.

Grammatical notes: aprietan is the present indicative form for ellos/ellas/ustedes. The corresponding present subjunctive form for the same subject is aprieten. Other related forms include aprieta (él/ella/usted present), aprietan (they/you all present), and the infinitive apretar. The word shares its core meaning with related verbs in the same family that indicate fastening, compressing, or applying force.

See also: apretar, which covers the full conjugation and semantic range of the verb, and related forms such as aprieta, aprietan, and aprieten.