verbverb
abfeiern
party
Definition & meaning
abfeiern is a separable German verb with two common meanings:
- To celebrate or party, often enthusiastically. It can also mean to praise or enthusiastically admire someone or something in colloquial speech.
- To take time off in lieu of overtime—that is, to use accumulated extra hours as paid time off.
The intended meaning depends on context.
Grammar & Word origin
- Verb: abfeiern
- Separable: Ich feiere heute ab. (“I’m celebrating today.”)
- Past participle: abgefeiert
- Auxiliary: haben
- It combines the separable prefix ab- with feiern . In the time-off sense, ab- conveys the idea of using up or compensating for accumulated overtime.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonyms vary by meaning:
- For celebrating: feiern is the general, neutral verb; zelebrieren sounds more formal or ceremonial.
- For praising someone or something: bejubeln [?](vocabuo://word/bejubeln] emphasizes cheering, while hochleben lassen means celebrating or honoring a person.
- For taking time off instead of receiving overtime pay: abbummeln is colloquial and commonly used for using up accumulated extra hours.
There is no exact antonym. Depending on the sense, arbeiten (“to work”) contrasts with taking time off, while trauern (“to mourn”) is roughly opposite to celebrating.
Common phrases & collocations
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Examples
Alle wollten gestern Abend richtig abfeiern.verb
Everyone wanted to really party last night.
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