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schlep

/ʃlɛp/
IPA guide

Other forms: schlepping; schlepped; schleps

When you schlep something, you lug or carry it with difficulty. If your taxi can't make it up an icy hill, you might have to schlep your groceries all the way up to your house.

If you schlep something, it's either awkward or heavy — or both. You have to pull or drag or tug things when you schlep them. You can also describe an awkward, long, or rough trip as a schlep: "It's such a schlep to get down Grandma's road during mud season." The word has a Yiddish root, shlepen, "to drag," from the Germanic sleifen, also "to drag."

Definitions of schlep
  1. verb
    pull along heavily, like a heavy load against a resistance
    synonyms: pull along, shlep
    see moresee less
    types:
    tow
    drag behind
    tug
    tow (a vessel) with a tug
    type of:
    drag
    pull, as against a resistance
  2. noun
    a tedious or difficult journey
    synonyms: shlep
    see moresee less
    type of:
    journey, journeying
    the act of traveling from one place to another
  3. noun
    (Yiddish) an awkward and stupid person
    synonyms: schlepper, shlep, shlepper
    see moresee less
    type of:
    simple, simpleton
    a person lacking intelligence or common sense
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘schlep'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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