schleifen
German, verb
schleifen is spelled S-C-H-L-E-I-F-E-N (9 letters) and appears 4.3 times per million words in written German, the 13,799th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Schleifen is a German verb meaning “to whet, grind (smooth and/or sharpen a surface by abrasion)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Schleifen is a different word: “gerund of schleifen”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “etwas oder jemanden über eine Oberfläche entlang ziehen oder schleppen”.
What does schleifen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to whet, grind (smooth and/or sharpen a surface by abrasion)
Sie hatten den Diamanten tausendmal geschliffen, bis dieser glänzte und funkelte.
- 2
to drill, train, especially in a vexatious manner
verb
- 1
to drag, to move across a surface, to slide heavily
Die Schleppe ihres Brautkleids schleifte über den Boden.
- 2
to drag, pull (something) across a surface without lifting it (or lifting it for brief moments only)
Sie schleiften die Truhe in die Zimmerecke.
- 3
to drag (take someone to a place by force or persuasion)
- 4
to raze, to tear down (e.g., a building, a wall, etc.)
Gemäß dem Versailler Vertrag musste der Kölner Festungsring geschleift werden.
noun
- 1
neutergerund of schleifen
noun
- 1
feminineplural of Schleife
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. etwas oder jemanden über eine Oberfläche entlang ziehen oder schleppen 2. als Trainer beziehungsweise Ausbilder Sportler beziehungsweise Rekruten hart trainieren lassen 3. (eine Befestigungsanlage) abreißen
verb: 1. die Oberfläche eines Gegenstandes bearbeiten, zum Beispiel um einen Diamanten in seine Form zu bringen 2. (eine Klinge) schärfen
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 schleifen
- schleift present singular third-person
- schliff past
- geschliffen participle past
- haben auxiliary
- 1 strong
- schleifend participle present
- schleife first-person indicative present
- schleifst indicative present second-person
- schleifest second-person singular subjunctive
- schleifet plural second-person subjunctive
- schliffen first-person indicative plural
- schliffe first-person formal rare
- schliffst indicative preterite second-person
- schlifft indicative plural preterite
- schliffest formal rare second-person
- schliffet formal plural rare
- schleif imperative second-person singular
- schleifte past
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to schleifen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is schleifen in German?
schleifen 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).