schlep

American  

[shlep] / ʃlɛp /

Also schlepp sometimes shlep,

verb (used with object)

Slang.

schlepped, schlepping

1. to carry; lug.

   to schlep an umbrella on a sunny day.

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verb (used without object)

Slang.

schlepped, schlepping

1. to move slowly, awkwardly, or tediously.

   We schlepped from store to store all day.

noun

Slang.

1. Also schlepper. someone or something that is tedious, slow, or awkward.

schlep British  

/ ʃlɛp /

verb

1. to drag or lug (oneself or an object) with difficulty

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noun

1. a stupid or clumsy person

2. an arduous journey or procedure

Etymology

Origin of schlep

First recorded in 1910–15; from Yiddish shlepn “to pull, drag, (intransitive) trudge,” from German schleppen, “to draw, tug, haul”; akin to slip ¹, slippery

Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

schlep schlepped schlepping

You have to schlep around while it’s raining, snowing or just hot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

He’s about to schlep through a 162-game season with them: plane trips, batting practice, 1 a.m. room service steak dinners in antiseptic luxury hotels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026

She still laughs about it now, whispering to my dad back then, half-horrified, half-amused: “BYOM? They want us to schlep raw meat to their house. Is that… something people do?”

From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2026

Yiddish, the language spoken by Ashkenazi Jews across Europe before the Holocaust, is now perhaps best known to many English speakers through words such as "schlep", "klutz" and "chutzpah".

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025

“Anyway, I’m guessing you didn’t schlep all the way out here just to listen to me talk business. What are you doing here?”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

In April, more than 100 fund managers schlepped to Newark and boarded a chartered 737 jet with SpaceX’s logo on the tail.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026

I schlepped in oversized bags of flour and sugar to make cranberry-orange and pumpkin-chocolate loaves for Christmas—leaving a fine dusting of powder in the pantry.

From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026

Lader, 40, described "grabbing babies who were being schlepped across the street, and finding parents who were hysterical that their kids weren't here."

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

He went on tours with me, built my bed and schlepped all my clothes over from Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026

But why don’t the rest of us yokels get schlepped around by private jets when we’re in grave danger?

From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2023

But few families would bother schlepping to Disney World for a ride based on the Disney box office bomb “Treasure Planet.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

How would I fare later, schlepping a precious martini into the living room?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

Still, they supported her ambitions, schlepping her to and from auditions and performances, and their creative natures helped her to see that a career in the arts “wasn’t off-limits,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025

Something I wish people knew about the fashion and styling industry is that 75% is hard work and schlepping, you’re carrying things all day, every day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2025

The days of endlessly schlepping back and forth to church were no longer my problem, and I was lazily sleeping in.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah