dar abasto — meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  SpainLatin Americaneutralinformal
  • To be able to cope with a workload or demand; to have sufficient capacity, time, or resources to handle current tasks.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Con tantos pedidos, la tienda no daba abasto para atender a todos los clientes a tiempo.

    With so many orders, the store couldn’t cope with serving all the customers on time.

  • No sé cómo vas a dar abasto con tantas tareas pendientes antes del fin de semana.

    I don’t know how you will manage with so many tasks pending before the weekend.

  • La cocina del restaurante daba abasto incluso en las horas pico gracias a su eficiente equipo.

    The restaurant’s kitchen was able to cope even during peak hours thanks to its efficient team.

• 2.

  SpainLatin Americaneutral
  • To be enough or sufficient (of supplies, resources, or means) to meet needs or demands.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Con la comida que compramos, creo que va a dar abasto para todos los invitados.

    With the food we bought, I think it will be enough for all the guests.

  • No sé si el presupuesto que tenemos dará abasto para cubrir todos los gastos del proyecto.

    I don't know if the budget we have will be sufficient to cover all the project expenses.

  • Cuando trabajaba en la tienda, muchas veces no daba abasto con la cantidad de clientes que llegaban en época de rebajas.

    When I worked at the store, many times I couldn't keep up with the number of customers that came during the sales season.