German word

vertreiben

Pronunciation

IPA/fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯bən/

Meaning

  • verbdrive away

Example

Das Licht vertreibt die Dunkelheit.

The light drives away the darkness.

Illustration for vertreiben (drive away)

More examples

Ein spannender Film vertreibt schnell die Langeweile.

An exciting film quickly drives away boredom.

Core concept

A force pushes something beyond a boundary; goods move outward to customers, and an activity pushes dull time out of awareness.

Common phrases

  • Langeweile vertreiben

    drive away boredom

  • Zweifel vertreiben

    drive away doubts

  • einen Gedanken vertreiben

    drive away a thought

Similar words

verjagen: To make a person or animal flee through fear or threats.
verkaufen: To give goods or services to others in exchange for payment.
sich beschäftigen: To spend time on an activity to avoid boredom.
sich ablenken: To shift attention to something else to ease distress or boredom.

Definition in German

jemanden oder etwas von einem Ort wegtreiben; im übertragenen Sinn Unangenehmes oder Langeweile vertreiben

Word origin

Vertreiben combines ver- with the inherited Germanic verb treiben, meaning to drive, and its senses extend from driving away to distributing goods and passing time.

Usage tips

  • The commercial sense means distribute or sell, as in Waren vertreiben, so context determines whether goods or an unwanted thing is being moved away.

Other meanings

  • sellverb
  • while awayverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word