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abpassen

to time (a move), to intercept

verb AHP-pas-sen Rare
Arts & Culture Sports

Also means

to wait for the right moment

Usage Note

abpassen in sports means to wait and then intercept an opponent or seize the right moment to act. A defender passt den Gegner ab (cuts the opponent off at the right moment). Outside sport it means to waylay someone.

Examples

"Der Verteidiger passte den Angreifer geschickt ab und stoppte den Konter."

Natural Translation

The defender skilfully intercepted the attacker and stopped the counter-attack.

Literal Translation

The defender timed the attacker skilfully off and stopped the counter.

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