Schlep

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ʃlɛp/

Definitions

1. To carry or move something heavy and awkwardly, or to travel somewhere reluctantly and with effort
2. To awkwardly haul a heavy load while feeling reluctant or tired, as well as to engage in a cumbersome journey that demands effort
3. To pull or transport a heavy or cumbersome object with difficulty ; to make a journey with reluctance and notable effort

Etymology: Yiddish "shlepn" meant "to drag," and it came into English through the speech of Jewish immigrants, mostly from Eastern Europe, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its roots run back much further: the Yiddish verb descends from Middle High German "slepen," a close relative of the German "schleppen," which still means "to haul." Dutch "slepen" and Danish "slæbe" share the same ancestry, so the word is a sibling of several northern European verbs for pulling along the ground. The sense of the English word shifted from the physical to the exhausting. Someone who schleps is hauling a heavy bag or box, but the word also covers the long, reluctant trip you make across town to reach an appointment. The effort, rather than the object, became the core of its meaning.

Synonyms: lug, haul, carry, drag, tote

Antonyms: lighten, ease, unburden, relieve, disburden