einholen
German, verb
einholen is spelled E-I-N-H-O-L-E-N (8 letters) and appears 4.3 times per million words in written German, the 13,799th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Einholen is a German verb meaning “to catch up (a person, vehicle, competitor etc. ahead of you)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Einholen is a different word: “gerund of einholen”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “das Versäumte oder Verlorene wieder aufholen”.
What does einholen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to catch up (a person, vehicle, competitor etc. ahead of you)
- 2
to make up (lost time, a shortfall)
- 3
to reel in (a net, flag etc.)
- 4
colloquialto go shopping
- 5
to obtain, to get (information, permission, assistance etc.)
noun
- 1
neutergerund of einholen
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. das Versäumte oder Verlorene wieder aufholen 2. erreichen und fangen; auch für Personen und Gruppen 3. einem Ankommenden feierlich entgegengehen, um sie zu begleiten 4. für den täglichen Bedarf einkaufen gehen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of einholen
- holt ein present singular third-person
- holte ein past
- eingeholt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- einholend participle present
- einzuholen infinitive infinitive-zu
- hole ein first-person indicative present
- holen ein first-person indicative plural
- holst ein indicative present second-person
- holest ein second-person singular subjunctive
- holet ein plural second-person subjunctive
- holten ein first-person indicative plural
- holtest ein indicative preterite second-person
- holtet ein indicative plural preterite
- hol ein! imperative singular
- hole ein! imperative singular
- holt ein! imperative plural
- eingeholt haben active infinitive perfect
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to einholen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is einholen in German?
einholen appears 4.3 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).