trancar

Trancar is a Portuguese verb with the primary meaning of locking or fastening something with a lock, bolt, or latch so as to prevent movement or access. It can also mean to close or secure by a bolt or bar. Beyond the physical sense, trancar can be used figuratively to denote blocking, hindering, or delaying a process or action.

Common contexts include securing objects such as a porta (door), a gaveta (drawer), or o carro (the car). It can also describe sealing off a passage or preventing entry, as in trancar a entrada. In political language, especially in Brazilian Portuguese, the expression trancar a pauta refers to blocking or stalling the legislative agenda. In computing or data handling, trancar can mean locking a file or record to prevent concurrent access.

The noun tranca refers to the bolt, bar, or latch used to secure something, while the adjective trancado denotes something that is locked or blocked. The verb is regular in the -ar conjugation, and its participle is trancado.

Etymology traces the verb to the noun tranca, meaning a bolt or bar, reflecting its original sense of securing or locking with a mechanical restraint.

See also: tranca, trancado, trancamento.