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left

 - 12 dictionary results

left

1  [left]
Use left in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or located on or near the side of a person or thing that is turned toward the west when the subject is facing north (opposed to right ).
2. (often initial capital letter) of or belonging to the political Left; having liberal or radical views in politics.
3. Mathematics. pertaining to an element of a set that has a given property when written on the left of an element or set of elements of the set: a left identity, as 1 in 1 · x = x.
–noun
4. the left side or something that is on the left side.
5. a turn toward the left: Make a left at the next corner.
6. the Left,
a. the complex of individuals or organized groups advocating liberal reform or revolutionary change in the social, political, or economic order.
b. the position held by these people. Compare right (def. 33a, b).
c. left wing.
7. (usually initial capital letter) Government.
a. the part of a legislative assembly, esp. in continental Europe, that is situated on the left side of the presiding officer and that is customarily assigned to members of the legislature who hold more radical and socialistic views than the rest of the members.
b. the members of such an assembly who sit on the left.
8. Boxing. a blow delivered by the left hand.
9. Baseball. left field (def. 1).
–adverb
10. toward the left: She moved left on entering the room.
Origin:
1125–75; 1935–40 for def. 6; ME left, lift, luft, OE left idle, weak, useless, Kentish form of lyft- (in lyftādl palsy); c. D, LG lucht; akin to ME libbe (mod. dial. lib) to castrate, c. D, LG lubben

left

2  [left]
–verb
1. pt. and pp. of leave 1 .
—Idiom
2. get left,
a. to be left stranded.
b. to miss an opportunity, objective, etc.

leave

1  [leev] verb, left, leav⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to go out of or away from, as a place: to leave the house.
2. to depart from permanently; quit: to leave a job.
3. to let remain or have remaining behind after going, disappearing, ceasing, etc.: I left my wallet home. The wound left a scar.
4. to allow to remain in the same place, condition, etc.: Is there any coffee left?
5. to let stay or be as specified: to leave a door unlocked.
6. to let (a person or animal) remain in a position to do something without interference: We left him to his work.
7. to let (a thing) remain for action or decision: We left the details to the lawyer.
8. to give in charge; deposit; entrust: Leave the package with the receptionist. I left my name and phone number.
9. to stop; cease; give up: He left music to study law.
10. to disregard; neglect: We will leave this for the moment and concentrate on the major problem.
11. to give for use after one's death or departure: to leave all one's money to charity.
12. to have remaining after death: He leaves a wife and three children.
13. to have as a remainder after subtraction: 2 from 4 leaves 2.
14. Nonstandard. let 1 (defs. 1, 2, 6).
–verb (used without object)
15. to go away, depart, or set out: We leave for Europe tomorrow.
—Verb phrases
16. leave alone. alone (def. 7).
17. leave off,
a. to desist from; cease; stop; abandon.
b. to stop using or wearing: It had stopped raining, so we left off our coats.
c. to omit: to leave a name off a list.
18. leave out, to omit; exclude: She left out an important detail in her account.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME leven, OE lǣfan (causative formation from base of lāf remainder; see lave 2 ); c. OHG leiban (cf. G bleiben to remain), ON leifa, Goth -laibjan

Related forms:
leaver, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2. abandon, forsake, desert; relinquish. 9. forbear, renounce. 10. ignore, forget. 11. bequeath, will; devise, transmit.

Antonyms:
1, 2. join.

Usage note:
Leave is interchangeable with let when followed by alone with the sense “to refrain from annoying or interfering with”: Leave (or Let) her alone and she will solve the problem easily. When he was left (or let) alone without interruptions, the boy quickly assembled the apparatus. The use of leave alone for let alone in the sense “not to mention” is nonstandard: There wasn't any standing room, let (not leave) alone a seat, so I missed the performance.
Other substitutions of leave for let are generally regarded as nonstandard: Let (not Leave) us sit down and talk this over. Let (not Leave) her do it her own way. The police wouldn't let (not leave) us cross the barriers. See also let 1 .

leave

3  [leev]
–verb (used without object), leaved, leav⋅ing.
to put forth leaves; leaf.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME leven, deriv. of lef leaf
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To left
leave 1   (lēv)   
v.   left (lěft), leav·ing, leaves

v.   tr.

  1. To go out of or away from: not allowed to leave the room.

    1. To go without taking or removing: left my book on the bus.

    2. To omit or exclude: left out the funniest part of the story.

    3. To have remaining after death: left a young son.

    4. To bequeath: left her money to charity.

    5. To abandon or forsake: leave home; left her husband.

    6. To remove oneself from association with or participation in: left the navy for civilian life.

    7. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.

    8. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.

  3. To have as a result, consequence, or remainder: The car left a trail of exhaust fumes. Two from eight leaves six.

  4. To cause or allow to be or remain in a specified state: left the lights on.

    1. To have remaining after death: left a young son.

    2. To bequeath: left her money to charity.

    3. To abandon or forsake: leave home; left her husband.

    4. To remove oneself from association with or participation in: left the navy for civilian life.

    5. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.

    6. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.

  6. To give over to another to control or act on: Leave all the details to us.

    1. To abandon or forsake: leave home; left her husband.

    2. To remove oneself from association with or participation in: left the navy for civilian life.

    3. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.

    4. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.

    1. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.

    2. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.

  9. Nonstandard To allow or permit; let.

v.   intr.
To set out or depart; go: When can you leave?
Phrasal Verbs:
leave /let alone
To refrain from disturbing or interfering.
leave off

  1. To stop; cease.

  2. To stop doing or using.

Phrasal Verb(s):
leave /let aloneTo refrain from disturbing or interfering.
leave off

  1. To stop; cease.

  2. To stop doing or using.


Idiom(s):
leave no stone unturnedTo make every possible effort.

[Middle English leaven, from Old English lǣfan; see leip- in Indo-European roots.]
leav'er n.
Usage Note: Leave alone is an acceptable substitute for let alone in the sense "to refrain from disturbing or interfering." A majority of the Usage Panel in an earlier survey approved the following examples: Leave him alone and he will produce. Left alone, he was quite productive. Those who did not accept these examples generally felt that leave alone should mean simply "to depart from someone who remains in solitude": They were left alone in the wilderness. · In formal writing leave is not an acceptable substitute for let in the sense "to allow or permit." Thus in the following examples, only let can be used: Let me be. Let him go. Let us not quarrel. Let it lie.
left 1   (lěft)   
adj.  

    1. Of, belonging to, located on, or being the side of the body to the north when the subject is facing east.

    2. Of, relating to, directed toward, or located on the left side.

    3. Located on the left side of a person facing downstream: the left bank of a river.

  2. often Left Of or belonging to the political or intellectual left.

n.  

    1. The direction or position on the left side.

    2. The left side.

    3. The left hand.

    4. A turn in the direction of the left hand or side.

    5. The people and groups who advocate liberal, often radical measures to effect change in the established order, especially in politics, usually to achieve the equality, freedom, and well-being of the common citizens of a state. Also called left wing.

    6. The opinion of those advocating such measures.

  2. often Left

    1. The people and groups who advocate liberal, often radical measures to effect change in the established order, especially in politics, usually to achieve the equality, freedom, and well-being of the common citizens of a state. Also called left wing.

    2. The opinion of those advocating such measures.

  3. Sports A blow delivered by a boxer's left hand.

  4. Baseball Left field.

adv.  Toward or on the left.

[Middle English, from Old English lyft-, weak, useless (in lyftādl, paralysis).]
left 2   (lěft)   
v.  Past tense and past participle of leave1.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

leave  (n.)
"permission," O.E. leafe, dat./acc. of leaf "permission," from W.Gmc. *lauba, cognate with O.E. lief "dear," the original idea being "approval resulting from pleasure." See also love, believe. In military sense, it is attested from 1771.

left 
c.1205, from Kentish form of O.E. lyft- "weak, foolish" (cf. lyft-adl "lameness, paralysis," E.Fris. luf, Du. dial. loof "weak, worthless"). It emerged 13c. as "opposite of right," a derived sense also found in M.Du., Low Ger. luchter, luft. Ger. link, Du. linker "left" are from O.H.G. slinc, M.Du. slink "left," related to O.E. slincan "crawl," Sw. linka "limp," slinka "dangle." Replaced O.E. winestra, lit. "friendlier," a euphemism used superstitiously to avoid invoking the unlucky forces connected with the left side (see sinister). The Kentish word itself may have been originally a taboo replacement, if instead it represents PIE root *laiwo-, meaning "considered conspicuous" (represented in Gk. laios, Latvian laevus, and Rus. levyi). Gk. also uses a euphemism for "left," aristeros "the better one" (cf. also Avestan vairyastara- "to the left," from vairya- "desirable"). But Lith. kairys "left" and Lettish kreilis "left hand" derive from a root that yields words for "twisted, crooked." Political sense arose from members of a legislative body assigned to the left side of a chamber, first attested in Eng. 1837 (by Carlyle, in ref. to the Fr. Revolution), probably a loan-translation of Fr. la gauche (1791), said to have originated during the seating of the Fr. National Assembly in 1789 in which the nobility took the seats on the President's right and left the Third Estate to sit on the left. Became general in U.S. and British political speech c.1900 (cf. Leftist, 1924; left wing, 1898). Used since at least 1612 in various senses of "irregular, illicit," such as the phrase left-handed compliment (1881). Phrase out in left field "unorthodox, unexpected" is attested from 1959. Lefty "left-handed person" is 1886, Amer.Eng., baseball slang. The Left Bank of Paris has been associated with intellectual and artistic culture since at least 1893.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: leave
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: left; leav·ing
: BEQUEATH, DEVISE
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: left
Pronunciation: 'left
Function: adjective
: of, relating to, or being the side of the body in which the heart is mostly located; also : located nearer to this side than to the right
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

left

In addition to the idioms beginning with left, also see hang a left; out in left field; right and left; take up where one left off; two left feet.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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