umleiten

Umleiten is a German verb meaning to redirect or reroute something from its current destination to another. It is formed from leiten, meaning to lead, with the prefix um-, which signals a change of direction or purpose. The noun form is die Umleitung, referring to a detour or a redirection.

In traffic management, eine Umleitung describes a planned change of route for road users, for example during roadworks or after an incident. Signs and signals guide drivers along an alternate path to maintain traffic flow and safety. The term also appears in logistics and service contexts, where routes, processes, or services are diverted to avoid disruption or to optimize performance.

In information technology and telecommunications, umleiten denotes directing data, signals, or calls to a different destination. In web technologies, a URL-redirect (Weiterleitung) sends a client from one address to another; standard HTTP status codes such as 301 (permanent redirect) and 302 (temporary redirect) specify the type of redirection. In email systems, forwarding (Umleitung) moves incoming messages to another address. In telecommunication, call forwarding is described as Telefonumleitung and serves similar purposes for voice calls.

Usage notes: Umleiten is a transitive verb that requires an object, e.g., den Verkehr umleiten or eine E-Mail umleiten. The term is common across technical, logistical, and everyday contexts and is often used interchangeably with Weiterleitung in IT contexts, though Weiterleitung emphasizes the result of redirecting rather than the action itself.