verb

treiben

do · drift · drive

Etwas in Bewegung setzen oder sich bewegen lassen, oft durch Wind, Wasser oder eine andere Kraft.

Definition & meaning

treiben is a strong German verb with several related meanings:

To drive, propel, or push
- To make a person, animal, or object move.
- Der Bauer treibt die Kühe auf die Weide. — “The farmer drives the cows to the pasture.”
- It can also mean to propel something by wind, water, or an engine:
  - Der Wind treibt das Boot ans Ufer. — “The wind drives the boat to the shore.”
To engage in or pursue an activity
- Especially used for sports, business, or certain kinds of activity.
- Sport treiben — “to do/play sports”
- Handel treiben — “to trade”
- Unfug treiben — “to cause mischief”
To make someone do something; to drive someone to a state or action
- Die Angst treibt ihn zur Flucht. — “Fear drives him to flee.”
- Sie treibt ihn zur Verzweiflung. — “She drives him to despair.”
To drift or float
- Used intransitively when something is carried along by water, wind, or another force.
- Das Holz treibt auf dem Wasser. — “The wood is floating/drifting on the water.”
To be up to or occupy oneself with something
- Often used in the expression Was treibst du?, literally “What are you doing?” or “What are you up to?”
- The related reflexive form sich treiben lassen means “to let oneself drift” or “to go with the flow.”
To sprout or bud
- Plants can treiben when they produce new shoots.
- Die Pflanzen treiben im Frühling aus. — “The plants sprout in spring.”
- Here, the separable verb austreiben is more common.

Grammar & Word origin

Infinitive: treiben
Present tense, third-person singular: treibt
Simple past: trieb
Past participle: getrieben
Auxiliary: usually haben , but sein can occur with certain movement meanings, such as something being carried or drifting somewhere.

It is an irregular or strong verb with a vowel change:

treiben → trieb → getrieben

It is generally transitive when it means “to drive” or “to cause”: someone drives another person or thing. It is intransitive when it means “to drift,” “to float,” or “to sprout.”

Historically, treiben comes from an old Germanic root meaning “to drive” or “to push.” It is related to the English word “drive.”

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

antreiben — “to drive on” or “to urge”; usually emphasizes actively encouraging or forcing movement.
drängen — “to urge” or “to press”; focuses more on pressure or insistence than on physical movement.
führen — “to lead” or “to guide”; implies direction and control, whereas treiben can involve force or involuntary movement.
bewegen — “to move”; a more general and neutral word.
betreiben — “to operate,” “to run,” or “to pursue”; used for activities, businesses, and practices rather than primarily for physical driving.
floaten — an informal borrowing meaning “to float”; it is narrower and less idiomatic than treiben for drifting on water.

Antonyms

The opposite depends on the meaning:

anhalten — “to stop”; the opposite of making something move.
stoppen — “to stop” or “to halt”; often used for machines, processes, or movement.
bremsen — “to brake” or “to slow down”; specifically counters movement rather than stopping it in every case.
festhalten — “to hold in place”; the opposite of allowing something to drift.
ruhen — “to be at rest”; the opposite of being active or engaged in an activity.

Common phrases & collocations

Sport treiben — to do or play sports
Handel treiben — to trade
Geschäfte treiben — to conduct business
Unfug treiben — to cause mischief
jemanden zur Verzweiflung treiben — to drive someone to despair
jemanden in die Enge treiben — to corner someone or put someone under pressure
sich treiben lassen — to let oneself drift or go with the flow
etwas auf die Spitze treiben — to take something to extremes
etwas treibt Blüten — something produces unexpected or exaggerated developments; literally, “something puts forth blossoms”