This is the 2536th most frequent Portuguese word.
empatar
"Empatar" means "to tie" or "to draw" in a competition, or "to hinder/delay" in certain contexts.
Here, 'empatar' means 'to tie' or 'to end in a draw,' referring to a sports match where no team wins.
O jogo terminou e os dois times empataram.
The game ended and both teams tied.
In this sentence, 'empatar' refers to leveling the score in a competition or match.
Ele conseguiu empatar o placar marcando um gol nos últimos minutos.
He managed to tie the score by scoring a goal in the last minutes.
Here, 'empatar' is used metaphorically to mean 'to stall' or 'to come to a standstill' due to some obstacle.