abracar

A regional variant of abarcar/abrazar used in Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama, and still heard in western Asturias and Santander — meaning to embrace tightly, hemming someone in with one's arms, or more broadly to encircle or contain something.

• El niño abracó a su madre con fuerza. — The child hugged his mother tightly.
• El árbol crecía tanto que sus raíces abracaban todo el jardín. — The tree grew so much its roots encircled the whole garden.
• Nadie podía abracarlo de tan grande que era el paquete. — No one could get their arms around it, the package was so big.

Outside those specific regions, abrazar (to hug) and abarcar (to encompass/take in) are the standard verbs a learner should default to — abracar will sound regional or archaic elsewhere.

Often confused with abrazar.