lean on
verb (used without object)
1.
to incline or bend from a vertical position: She leaned out the window.
2.
to incline, as in a particular direction; slant: The post leans to the left. The building leaned sharply before renovation.
3.
to incline in feeling, opinion, action, etc.: to lean toward socialism.
4.
to rest against or on something for support: to lean against a wall.
5.
to depend or rely (usually followed by on or upon ): someone he could lean on in an emergency.
verb (used with object)
6.
to incline or bend: He leaned his head forward.
7.
to cause to lean or rest; prop: to lean a chair against the railing.
00:10
Lean on
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
noun
Verb phrases 8.
the act or state of leaning; inclination: The tower has a pronounced lean.
9.
Idioms lean on, Informal.
a.
to exert influence or pressure on in order to gain cooperation, maintain discipline, or the like: The state is leaning on the company to clean up its industrial wastes.
b.
to criticize, reprimand, or punish: I would have enjoyed school more if the teachers hadn't leaned on me so much.
10.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English lenen, Old English hleonian, hlinian; cognate with G. lehnen; akin to Latin clīnāre to incline, Greek klī́nein
before 900; Middle English lenen, Old English hleonian, hlinian; cognate with G. lehnen; akin to Latin clīnāre to incline, Greek klī́nein
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To lean on
Collins
World English Dictionary
lean1 (liːn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (foll by against, on, | |
| 1. | to rest or cause to rest against a support |
| 2. | to incline or cause to incline from a vertical position |
| 3. | (intr; |
| 4. | informal lean over backwards to make a special effort, esp in order to please |
| —n | |
| 5. | the condition of inclining from a vertical position |
| [Old English hleonian, hlinian; related to Old High German hlinēn, Latin clīnāre to | |
| lean2 (liːn) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | (esp of a person or an animal) having no surplus flesh or bulk; not fat or plump |
| 2. | not bulky or full |
| 3. | (of meat) having little or no fat |
| 4. | not rich, abundant, or satisfying |
| 5. | (of a mixture of fuel and air) containing insufficient fuel and too much air: a lean mixture |
| 6. | (of printer's type) having a thin appearance |
| 7. | (of a paint) containing relatively little oil |
| 8. | (of an ore) not having a high mineral content |
| 9. | (of concrete) made with a small amount of cement |
| —n | |
| 10. | the part of meat that contains little or no fat |
| [Old English hlǣne, of Germanic origin] | |
| 'leanly2 | |
| —adv | |
| 'leanness2 | |
| —n | |
| Lean (liːn) | |
| —n | |
| Sir David. 1908--91, English film director. His films include In Which We Serve (1942), Blithe Spirit (1945), Brief Encounter (1946), Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984) | |
| lean on | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | Also: lean upon to depend on for advice, support, etc |
| 2. | informal to exert pressure on (someone), as by threats or intimidation |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
lean
O.E. hleonian "to bend, recline, lie down, rest," from P.Gmc. *khlinen (cf. O.S. hlinon, O.Fris. lena, M.Du. lenen, Ger. lehnen "to lean"), from PIE base *kli- "to lean, to incline" (cf. Skt. srayati "leans," sritah "leaning;" O.Pers. cay "to lean;" Lith. slyti "to slope," slieti "to lean;" L. clinare
"to lean, bend," clivus "declivity," inclinare "cause to bend," declinare "bend down, turn aside;" Gk. klinein "to cause to slope, slant, incline;" O.Ir. cloin "crooked, wrong;" M.Ir. cle, Welsh cledd "left," lit. "slanting;" Welsh go-gledd "north," lit. "left" -- for similar sense evolution, see Yemen, Benjamin, southpaw). Meaning "to incline the body against something for support" is mid-13c. Figurative sense of "to trust for support" is from early 13c. Sense of "to lean toward mentally, to favor" is from late 14c. Colloquial to lean on "put pressure on" (someone) is first recorded 1960.
lean
"thin, spare, with little flesh or fat," O.E. hlæne, possibly from hlænan "cause to lean or bend," from P.Gmc. *khlainijan, which would make it related to O.E. hleonian (see lean (v.)). But perhaps rather from a PIE *qloinio- (cf. Lith. klynas "scrap, fragment," Lettish kleins "feeble").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
lean on
-
Rely on, depend on, as in He's leaning on me for help. [Mid-1400s]
-
Exert pressure on one, especially to obtain something or make one do something against his or her will. For example, The gangsters were leaning on local storekeepers to pay them protection money. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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