aterrar

Senses

1. 1.

   to land

   to touch down on the ground (aircraft, spacecraft)

2. 2.

   to terrify, to frighten

   to cause great fear or terror in someone

3. 3.

   to fill with earth, to level

   to fill a space or hole with soil or dirt

Examples

• "O avião aterrou no aeroporto de Guarulhos às 10h da manhã."

  The plane landed at Guarulhos airport at 10 a.m.

• "Aquele filme de terror me aterrou completamente."

  That horror movie terrified me completely.

• "Precisamos aterrar o terreno antes de começar a construção."

  We need to fill the land with earth before starting construction.

Usage

The landing sense (aircraft) is more common in European Portuguese; Brazilians often prefer "pousar" for this meaning. The "terrify" sense comes from "terra" (terror/earth) and is literary or formal. Common conjugation: aterro, aterra, aterramos.