leaf
one of the expanded, usually green organs borne by the stem of a plant.
any similar or corresponding lateral outgrowth of a stem.
a petal: a rose leaf.
leaves collectively; foliage.
Bibliography. a unit generally comprising two printed, blank, or illustrated pages of a book, one on each side.
a thin sheet of metal: silver leaf.
a lamina or layer.
a sliding, hinged, or detachable flat part, as of a door or tabletop.
a section of a drawbridge.
a single strip of metal in a leaf spring.
a tooth of a small gear wheel, as of a pinion.
Textiles. shaft (def. 14).
to put forth leaves.
to turn pages, especially quickly (usually followed by through): to leaf through a book.
to thumb or turn, as the pages of a book or magazine, in a casual or cursory inspection of the contents.
Idioms about leaf
in leaf, covered with foliage; having leaves: the pale green tint of the woods newly in leaf.
take a leaf out of / from someone's book, to follow someone's example; imitate: Some countries that took a leaf out of American industry's book are now doing very well for themselves.
turn over a new leaf, to begin anew; make a fresh start: Every New Year's we make resolutions to turn over a new leaf.
Origin of leaf
1Other words from leaf
- leafless, adjective
- leaflike, adjective
- un·leaf, verb (used with object)
- un·leaf·like, adjective
Other definitions for Leaf (2 of 2)
Mun·ro [muhn-roh], /mʌnˈroʊ/, 1905–76, U.S. author and illustrator of books for children.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use leaf in a sentence
Just as a leaf flutters to the ground, this is an inherently unstable configuration and the aerodynamics are impossible to predict.
SpaceX Starship Prototype Exploded, but It’s Still a Giant Leap Towards Mars | Hugh Hunt | December 17, 2020 | Singularity HubLike, we’re not changing anything, we’re just putting a fig leaf on the art.
“I started crying”: Inside Timnit Gebru’s last days at Google—and what happens next | Karen Hao | December 16, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewWhen bafflers crawl through a hole in a leaf, align their wings with the leaf and start to sing, they’re essentially expanding this resonance structure, using the leaf “a bit like a loudspeaker or a megaphone,” Deb says.
Small, quiet crickets turn leaves into megaphones to blare their mating call | Jonathan Lambert | December 16, 2020 | Science NewsI heard from a relatively small group of 142 Losers who combed the fall season for jokes on Thanksgiving, Halloween, pumpkin spice, leaf blowers, Oktoberfest, and the Four Seasons Total Landscaping Press Conference.
If leaf senescence does not shift at the same pace, those animals could be without the food and cover that late-season leaves usually provide.
Climate change is affecting fall foliage, but not in the way you think | Ula Chrobak | November 30, 2020 | Popular-Science
Holding them in my hands, leafing through the pages, is a comfort to me.
As an adult she was a “newsagent reader,” leafing through copies at newsstands before buying the more refined Sunday Telegraph.
“I hope to sell other works” she said, and returned to leafing through her books of transparencies.
Before I left they were leafing through books to see if anything fell out but that is all I saw.
Warren Commission (3 of 26): Hearings Vol. III (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President KennedyAfter leafing through them once, it had been a while before Barney could bring himself to study the notes in more detail.
Gone Fishing | James H. SchmitzLeafing, blossoming, and ripening early (blossoming soon after Riparia).
The Grapes of New York | U. P. HedrickRunning rose-bushes, just leafing out into their fall greenery, overgrew the pillars beside her.
The Readjustment | Will IrwinYou could have knocked me over with a turkey feather, when I saw the kind of book he was leafing through.
Shenanigans at Sugar Creek | Paul Hutchens
British Dictionary definitions for leaf
/ (liːf) /
the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants, usually consisting of a flat green blade attached to the stem directly or by a stalk: Related adjectives: foliar, foliate
foliage collectively
in leaf (of shrubs, trees, etc) having a full complement of foliage leaves
one of the sheets of paper in a book
a hinged, sliding, or detachable part, such as an extension to a table
metal in the form of a very thin flexible sheet: gold leaf
a foil or thin strip of metal in a composite material; lamina
short for leaf spring
the inner or outer wall of a cavity wall
a crop that is harvested in the form of leaves
a metal strip forming one of the laminations in a leaf spring
a slang word for marijuana
take a leaf out of someone's book or take a leaf from someone's book to imitate someone, esp in one particular course of action
turn over a new leaf to begin a new and improved course of behaviour
(when intr, usually foll by through) to turn (through pages, sheets, etc) cursorily
(intr) (of plants) to produce leaves
Origin of leaf
1Derived forms of leaf
- leafless, adjective
- leaflessness, noun
- leaflike, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for leaf
[ lēf ]
An appendage growing from the stem of a plant. Leaves are extremely variable in form and function according to species. For example, the needles of pine trees, the spines of cacti, and the bright red parts of the poinsettia plant are all leaves modified for different purposes. However, most leaves are flat and green and adapted to capturing sunlight and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. They consist of an outer tissue layer (the epidermis) through which water and gases are exchanged, a spongy inner layer of cells that contain chloroplasts, and veins that supply water and minerals and carry out food. Some leaves are simple, while others are compound, consisting of multiple leaflets. The flat part of the leaf, the blade, is often attached to the stem by a leafstalk.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with leaf
In addition to the idiom beginning with leaf
- leaf through
also see:
- quake in one's boots (like a leaf)
- take a leaf out of someone's book
- turn over a new leaf
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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