verb

fortführen

continue

Etwas weiter machen, ohne damit aufzuhören.

Definition & meaning

The verb fortführen describes the action of continuing an activity, a process, or an existing state that has already begun. It implies moving forward with something rather than stopping or abandoning it.

There are two primary ways to interpret this word:

To continue/carry on: To persist with a task, a project, or a line of work. For example, if someone is writing a book and decides to keep writing it, they fortführen the work.
To lead away/take away: Less commonly, it can mean to lead someone or something away to another place. This is often used in formal or literary contexts to describe escorting someone or taking an object to a different location.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammar: It is a separable verb (trennbares Verb). In a sentence, the prefix "fort-" separates from the root verb "führen" (e.g., "Ich führe das Projekt fort"). It is a weak verb, so its past participle is fortgeführt.

Word origin: The word is a compound of the adverb fort (meaning "away," "onwards," or "continuously") and the verb führen (meaning "to lead," "to guide," or "to conduct"). The combination literally suggests "leading something onwards."