demarrar

A cycling-jargon verb borrowed from French démarrer, meaning to break away or suddenly accelerate away from the pack (demarró a diez kilómetros de la meta). Outside cycling commentary, most Spanish speakers wouldn't recognize or use it — arrancar or the more general acelerar cover the everyday sense of "to take off."

• El ciclista demarró en la última subida. — The cyclist broke away on the final climb.
• Nadie pudo seguirle cuando demarró. — No one could keep up with him when he broke away.
• Nunca se sabe cuándo va a demarrar. — You never know when he's going to make his move.

Using demarrar outside cycling contexts expecting to be understood — it's specialized sports jargon, not a general-purpose verb for "to speed off."

Often confused with arrancar.