el maletero

Definition & meaning

Maletero is a masculine Spanish noun with several related meanings:

1. Car trunk / boot: the storage compartment at the back of a car where luggage is kept.

   • El coche tiene un maletero muy grande. — “The car has a very large trunk.”
   • In Spain, maletero commonly means “boot”; in many Latin American countries, words such as cajuela or baúl may also be used.

2. Luggage compartment or luggage rack: a space or structure for carrying luggage, especially on a bus, train, or vehicle.

   • Ponga las maletas en el maletero del autobús. — “Put the suitcases in the bus’s luggage compartment.”

3. Luggage handler or porter: a person whose job is to carry or handle passengers’ luggage, especially at a hotel or station. This meaning is less common than the vehicle-related meanings.

   • El maletero llevó las maletas hasta la habitación. — “The porter carried the suitcases to the room.”

Grammar & Word origin

• Gender: masculine
• Singular: maletero
• Plural: maleteros
• Feminine form: maletera, when referring to a female luggage handler

The word is formed from maleta ↗ (“suitcase” or “piece of luggage”) plus the suffix -ero ↗, which can indicate a place, container, or person associated with something. Thus, maletero originally refers to something or someone associated with luggage.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

• baúl ↗ — “trunk” or “boot,” especially in some Latin American varieties; it can also mean a chest or trunk for storage.
• cajuela ↗ — “trunk,” particularly common in Mexico.
• portaequipajes ↗ — “luggage carrier” or “luggage rack.” It usually refers to an external rack or a dedicated luggage-carrying structure, rather than the enclosed trunk of a car.
• mozo de equipajes [?](vocabuo://word/mozo de equipajes) — “luggage porter,” specifically for the human meaning of maletero.

Antonyms

There is no direct antonym for maletero, since it names a compartment, object, or occupation rather than a quality or action. Depending on the context, a contrasting idea could be habitáculo ↗ (“passenger compartment”) when contrasting the luggage area with the area for passengers.

Common phrases & collocations

• abrir el maletero [?](vocabuo://word/abrir el maletero) — to open the trunk
• cerrar el maletero [?](vocabuo://word/cerrar el maletero) — to close the trunk
• el maletero del coche [?](vocabuo://word/el maletero del coche) — the car trunk
• meter algo en el maletero [?](vocabuo://word/meter algo en el maletero) — to put something in the trunk
• sacar algo del maletero [?](vocabuo://word/sacar algo del maletero) — to take something out of the trunk
• maletero delantero [?](vocabuo://word/maletero delantero) — front trunk, especially in an electric car or a car with a front storage compartment
• maletero del autobús [?](vocabuo://word/maletero del autobús) — bus luggage compartment