fritar

Senses

1. 1.

   to fry

   to cook food in hot oil or fat

2. 2.

   to break down; to burn out

   to malfunction or stop working (informal, especially of electronics)

Examples

• "Vou fritar as batatas para o almoço."

  I'm going to fry the potatoes for lunch.

• "Meu computador fritou ontem; não consigo ligá-lo mais."

  My computer burned out yesterday; I can't turn it on anymore.

• "Você fritou o frango na manteiga ou no óleo?"

  Did you fry the chicken in butter or in oil?

Usage

The literal meaning refers to cooking technique. The informal sense (to break or burn out) is widely used in Brazilian Portuguese for appliances and electronics that stop functioning, often due to overheating or electrical damage. Common collocations: fritar algo em óleo/manteiga (fry something in oil/butter), fritar um componente (fry/burn out a component).