picar
verbo transitivo
1 (con el pico, la boca) [+abeja, avispa] to sting [+mosquito, serpiente, pez] to bite; [+ave] to peck (at)
me ha picado un bicho en el cuello an insect has bitten me on the neck
los pájaros han picado toda la fruta the birds have pecked holes in o pecked (at) all the fruit
picar el anzuelo to take o swallow the bait; to rise to the bait; fall for it (familiar)
¿qué mosca le habrá picado? what's got into her?; what's eating her?; (EEUU)
2 (comer) [+persona] to nibble at
he estado picando unos cacahuetes I've been nibbling at some peanuts; he picado algo antes de comer I had a little nibble before lunch
4 (trocear) (Culin) [+ajo, cebolla, patata] to chop; (España) (S. Cone) [+carne] to mince; grind; (EEUU)
pica la cebolla muy picadita chop the onion very finely
[+tabaco] to cut; [+hielo] to crush [+tierra] to dig over; break up [+piedra] (en trozos pequeños) to chip at; (en trozos grandes) to break up acabó sus días picando piedra en una cantera he ended his days breaking up stone in a quarry
5 (provocar) [+persona] to needle; goad; [+caballo] to spur on
estaba siempre picándome he was always needling o goading me
eso me picó la curiosidad that aroused my curiosity
lo que dijiste lo picó en su amor propio what you said wounded o hurt his pride
verbo intransitivo
2 (comer) [+persona] to nibble; snack
llevo todo el día picando I've been nibbling o snacking all day
3 (morder el cebo) [+pez] to bite; [+persona] to fall for it (familiar)
hoy parece que no pican it seems they aren't biting today
ha picado mucha gente a lot of people have fallen for it (familiar)
picar muy alto to aim too high; be over-ambitious
4 (ser picante) [+comida] to be hot; be spicy
esta salsa sí que pica this sauce is really hot o spicy
5 (causar picor) [+herida, espalda] to itch
me pica la espalda my back itches
me pica por todo el cuerpo I'm itching all over; me pica la barba I've got an itchy beard
un jersey que pica an itchy jumper; ¿le pica la garganta? do you have a tickle in your throat?; do you have a tickly throat?; me pican los ojos my eyes are stinging o smarting; el alcohol te va a picar un poco the alcohol is going to sting you a little; ¿qué te pica? where does it itch?; what's got into you?; what's eating you?; (EEUU)
a quien le pique que se rasque if you don't like it, you can lump it
verbo pronominal
picarse1 (corroerse) [+diente, muela] to rot; decay; [+hierro, metal] to rust; [+goma, neumático] to perish; [+cable] to corrode [+ropa] to get moth-eaten
se ha picado la chapa del coche the bodywork has rusted
3 (enfadarse) to get into a huff (familiar)
¿no te habrás picado por lo que te he dicho? you're not in a huff about what I said, are you?
el que se pica ajos come if the cap fits, wear it
(sentirse provocado) se picó y pisó el acelerador he rose to the challenge and stepped on the accelerator; picarse con algn to compete with sb; siempre se están picando a ver quién es el primero they're always competing to be the first
(aficionarse) picarse con algo to get hooked on sth (familiar)
se ha picado con los videojuegos he's got into video games in a big way (familiar); he's got hooked on video games (familiar)