verb
to finish, to take care of
B1
Means 'to finish' or 'to take care of' (e.g. eine Aufgabe erledigen). Commonly transitive: you erledigen something. It is a regular weak verb (Partizip: erledigt), uses auxiliary 'haben', non-reflexive and non-separable. No special preposition; often used for tasks, errands or duties.
Examples
Er erledigte die Arbeit schnell.
He finished the work quickly.
Ich erledige meine Aufgaben.
I'm doing my tasks.
Die Sekretärin erledigte die Aufgaben, damit der Chef pünktlich zur Besprechung gehen konnte.
The secretary took care of the tasks so that the boss could go to the meeting on time.
Details
Mnemonics
Picture crossing off an item on a to-do list — the task is done
sounds like 'air-led-dig-en' — imagine a leader doing a task
Notes
Erledigen is commonly used for completing tasks or handling matters. It is inseparable and uses haben in perfect tenses.