cabo

cape

noun KAH-boh Common

Also means

corporal (military rank)

Usage Note

Cabo covers several unrelated senses: a geographical headland (el Cabo de Buena Esperanza), the lowest non-commissioned rank in the army equivalent to 'corporal', and the end or tip of something (atar cabos means 'to put two and two together'). The phrase al cabo de means 'at the end of' a time period, and llevar a cabo means 'to carry out' — both are very high-frequency idioms worth learning early.

Examples

"Llegamos al cabo de tres horas."

Natural Translation

We arrived after three hours.

Literal Translation

We-arrived at-the end of three hours.

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