let definition | Dictionary.com

let

1 [let]

verb, let, let⋅ting, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.	to allow or permit: to let him escape.

2.	to allow to pass, go, or come: to let us through.

3.	to grant the occupancy or use of (land, buildings, rooms, space, etc., or movable property) for rent or hire (sometimes fol. by out).

4.	to contract or assign for performance, usually under a contract: to let work to a carpenter.

5.	to cause to; make: to let one know the truth.

6.	(used in the imperative as an auxiliary expressive of a request, command, warning, suggestion, etc.): Let me see. Let us go. Just let them try it!

–verb (used without object)

7.	to admit of being rented or leased: The apartment lets for $100 per week.

–noun

8.	British. a lease.

—Verb phrases

let down,

a.	to disappoint; fail.

b.	to betray; desert.

c.	to slacken; abate: We were too near success to let down in our efforts.

d.	to allow to descend slowly; lower.

e.	Aeronautics. (of an airplane) to descend from a higher to a lower altitude preparatory to making an approach and landing or a similar maneuver.

10.

let in,

to admit.

b.	to involve (a person) in without his or her knowledge or permission: to let someone in for a loss.

c.	Also, let into. to insert into the surface of (a wall or the like) as a permanent addition: to let a plaque into a wall.

d.	Also, let in on. to share a secret with; permit to participate in.

11.

let off,

a.	to release by exploding.

b.	to free from duty or responsibility; excuse.

c.	to allow to go with little or no punishment; pardon: The judge let off the youthful offender with a reprimand.

12.

let on,

a.	to reveal one's true feelings: She was terrified at the prospect, but didn't let on.

b.	to pretend: They let on that they didn't care about not being invited, but I could tell that they were hurt.

13.

let out,

a.	to divulge; make known.

b.	to release from confinement, restraint, etc.

c.	to enlarge (a garment).

d.	to terminate; be finished; end: When does the university let out for the summer?

e.	to make (a let-out fur or pelt).

14.

let up,

a.	to slacken; diminish; abate: This heat wave should let up by the end of the week.

b.	to cease; stop: The rain let up for a few hours.

15.	let up on, to treat less severely; be more lenient with: He refused to let up on the boy until his grades improved.

—Idioms

16.	let alone. alone (def. 8).

17.

let be,

a.	to refrain from interference.

b.	to refrain from interfering with.

18.	let go. go (def. 82).

19.	let someone have it, Informal. to attack or assault, as by striking, shooting, or rebuking: The gunman threatened to let the teller have it if he didn't move fast.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME leten, OE lǣtan; c. D laten, G lassen, ON lāta, Goth lētan; akin to Gk lēdeîn to be weary, L lassus tired. See late

Synonyms:
1. See allow. 1. suffer, grant. 3. lease, rent, sublet, hire.

Antonyms:
1. prevent.

Usage note:
Let us is used in all varieties of speech and writing to introduce a suggestion or a request: Let us consider all the facts before deciding. The contracted form let's occurs mostly in informal speech and writing: Let's go. Let's not think about that right now. Perhaps because let's has come to be felt as a word in its own right rather than as the contraction of let us, it is often followed in informal speech and writing by redundant or appositional pronouns: Let's us plan a picnic. Let's you and I (or me) get together tomorrow. Both Let's you and me and Let's you and I occur in the relaxed speech of educated speakers. The former conforms to the traditional rules of grammar; the latter, nonetheless, occurs more frequently. See also leave ¹ .

let

2 [let]

noun, verb, let⋅ted or let, let⋅ting.

–noun

1.	(in tennis, badminton, etc.) any play that is voided and must be replayed, esp. a service that hits the net and drops into the proper part of the opponent's court.

2.	Chiefly Law. an impediment or obstacle: to act without let or hindrance.

–verb (used with object)

3.	Archaic. to hinder, prevent, or obstruct.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME letten (v.), lette (n.; deriv. of the v.), OE lettan (v.), deriv. of læt slow, tardy, late; c. ON letja to hinder

-let

a diminutive suffix attached to nouns (booklet; piglet; ringlet), and, by extraction from bracelet, a suffix denoting a band, piece of jewelry, or article of clothing worn on the part of the body specified by the noun (anklet; wristlet).

Origin:
ME -let, -lette < MF -elet, equiv. to -el (< L -āle, neut. of -ālis -al ¹ (cf. bracelet ) or < L -ellus dim. suffix; cf. -elle, chaplet ) + -et -et

let's

[lets]

contraction of let us.

Usage note:
See contraction, let ¹ .

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To let

let¹ (lět)

v. let, let·ting, lets

v. tr.

To give permission or opportunity to; allow: I let them borrow the car. The inheritance let us finally buy a house. See Usage Note at leave¹.
To cause to; make: Let the news be known.
1. Used as an auxiliary in the imperative to express a command, request, or proposal: Let's finish the job! Let x equal y.
2. Used as an auxiliary in the imperative to express a warning or threat: Just let her try!
To permit to enter, proceed, or depart: let the dog in.
To release from or as if from confinement: let the air out of the balloon; let out a yelp.
To rent or lease: let rooms.
To award, especially after bids have been submitted: let the construction job to a new firm.

v. intr.

To become rented or leased.
To be or become assigned, as to a contractor.
To cause to come down gradually; lower: let down the sails.
1. To withdraw support from; forsake.
2. To fail to meet the expectations of; disappoint.
To allow to be known; admit: Don't let on that you know me.
To pretend.
To come to a close; end: School let out early. The play let out at 11 P.M.
To make known; reveal: Who let that story out?
To increase the size of (a garment, for example): let out a coat.
To slow down; diminish: didn't let up in their efforts.
To come to a stop; cease: The rain let up.

Phrasal Verb(s):
let down

To cause to come down gradually; lower: let down the sails.
1. To withdraw support from; forsake.
2. To fail to meet the expectations of; disappoint.

let on

To allow to be known; admit: Don't let on that you know me.
To pretend.

let out

To come to a close; end: School let out early. The play let out at 11 P.M.
To make known; reveal: Who let that story out?
To increase the size of (a garment, for example): let out a coat.

let up

To slow down; diminish: didn't let up in their efforts.
To come to a stop; cease: The rain let up.

Idiom(s):
let aloneNot to mention; much less: "Their ancestors had been dirt poor and never saw royalty, let alone hung around with them" (Garrison Keillor).

Idiom(s):
let goTo cease to employ; dismiss: had to let 20 workers go.

Idiom(s):
let off on Informal To cause to diminish, as in pressure; ease up on: Let off on the gas so that we do not exceed the speed limit.

Idiom(s):
let (one's) hair downTo drop one's reserve or inhibitions.

Idiom(s):
let (someone) have it Informal

To beat, strike, or shoot at someone.
To scold or punish.

Idiom(s):
let (someone) in on

To reveal (a secret) to someone: They finally let me in on their plans.
To allow someone to participate in (something).

Idiom(s):
let up onTo be or become more lenient with: Why don't you let up on the poor child?

[Middle English leten, from Old English lǣtan; see lē- in Indo-European roots.]

let² (lět)

Something that hinders; an obstacle: free to investigate without let or hindrance.
Sports An invalid stroke in tennis and other net games that requires a replay.

tr.v. let·ted or let, let·ting, lets Archaic
To hinder or obstruct.

[Middle English lette, from letten, to hinder, from Old English lettan; see lē- in Indo-European roots.]

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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Let

Let\ (l[e^]t), v. t. [OE. letten, AS. lettan to delay, to hinder, fr. l[ae]t slow; akin to D. letten to hinder, G. verletzen to hurt, Icel. letja to hold back, Goth. latjan. See Late.] To retard; to hinder; to impede; to oppose. [Archaic]

He was so strong that no man might him let. --Chaucer.

He who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. --2. Thess. ii. 7.

Mine ancient wound is hardly whole, And lets me from the saddle. --Tennyson.

Let

Let\, n. 1. A retarding; hindrance; obstacle; impediment; delay; -- common in the phrase without let or hindrance, but elsewhere archaic. --Keats.

Consider whether your doings be to the let of your salvation or not. --Latimer.

2. (Lawn Tennis) A stroke in which a ball touches the top of the net in passing over.

Let

Let\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Let (Letted (l[e^]t"t[e^]d), [Obs].); p. pr. & vb. n. Letting.] [OE. leten, l[ae]ten (past tense lat, let, p. p. laten, leten, lete), AS. l[=ae]tan (past tense l[=e]t, p. p. l[=ae]ten); akin to OFries. l[=e]ta, OS. l[=a]tan, D. laten, G. lassen, OHG. l[=a]zzan, Icel. l[=a]ta, Sw. l[*a]ta, Dan. lade, Goth. l[=e]tan, and L. lassus weary. The original meaning seems to have been, to let loose, let go, let drop. Cf. Alas, Late, Lassitude, Let to hinder.]

1. To leave; to relinquish; to abandon. [Obs. or Archaic, except when followed by alone or be.]

He . . . prayed him his voyage for to let. --Chaucer.

Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets, But to her mother Nature all her care she lets. --Spenser.

Let me alone in choosing of my wife. --Chaucer.

2. To consider; to think; to esteem. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

3. To cause; to make; -- used with the infinitive in the active form but in the passive sense; as, let make, i. e., cause to be made; let bring, i. e., cause to be brought. [Obs.]

This irous, cursed wretch Let this knight's son anon before him fetch. --Chaucer.

He . . . thus let do slay hem all three. --Chaucer.

Anon he let two coffers make. --Gower.

4. To permit; to allow; to suffer; -- either affirmatively, by positive act, or negatively, by neglecting to restrain or prevent.

Note: In this sense, when followed by an infinitive, the latter is commonly without the sign to; as to let us walk, i. e., to permit or suffer us to walk. Sometimes there is entire omission of the verb; as, to let [to be or to go] loose.

Pharaoh said, I will let you go. --Ex. viii. 28.

If your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is. --Shak.

5. To allow to be used or occupied for a compensation; to lease; to rent; to hire out; -- often with out; as, to let a farm; to let a house; to let out horses.

6. To give, grant, or assign, as a work, privilege, or contract; -- often with out; as, to let the building of a bridge; to let out the lathing and the plastering.

Note: The active form of the infinitive of let, as of many other English verbs, is often used in a passive sense; as, a house to let (i. e., for letting, or to be let). This form of expression conforms to the use of the Anglo-Saxon gerund with to (dative infinitive) which was commonly so employed. See Gerund, 2. " Your elegant house in Harley Street is to let." --Thackeray. In the imperative mood, before the first person plural, let has a hortative force. " Rise up, let us go." --Mark xiv. 42. " Let us seek out some desolate shade." --Shak.

To let alone, to leave; to withdraw from; to refrain from interfering with.

To let blood, to cause blood to flow; to bleed.

To let down. (a) To lower. (b) To soften in tempering; as, to let down tools, cutlery, and the like.

To let drive or fly, to discharge with violence, as a blow, an arrow, or stone. See under Drive, and Fly.

To let in or into. (a) To permit or suffer to enter; to admit. (b) To insert, or imbed, as a piece of wood, in a recess formed in a surface for the purpose. To let loose, to remove restraint from; to permit to wander at large.

To let off. (a) To discharge; to let fly, as an arrow; to fire the charge of, as a gun. (b) To release, as from an engagement or obligation. [Colloq.]

To let out. (a) To allow to go forth; as, to let out a prisoner. (b) To extend or loosen, as the folds of a garment; to enlarge; to suffer to run out, as a cord. (c) To lease; to give out for performance by contract, as a job. (d) To divulge.

To let slide, to let go; to cease to care for. [Colloq.] " Let the world slide." --Shak.

Let

Let\, v. i. 1. To forbear. [Obs.] --Bacon.

2. To be let or leased; as, the farm lets for $500 a year. See note under Let, v. t.

To let on, to tell; to tattle; to divulge something. [Low]

To let up, to become less severe; to diminish; to cease; as, when the storm lets up. [Colloq.]

Language Translation for : let

Spanish: dejar, permitir,

German: lassen,

Japanese: ～させる

More Translations »

let (v.)

O.E. lætan "to allow, let go, bequeath, leave," also "to rent" (class VII strong verb; past tense let, pp. læten), from P.Gmc. *lætan (cf. O.S. latan, O.Fris. leta, Du. laten, Ger. lassen, Goth. letan "to leave, let"), from PIE *le(i)d- "to leave behind, leave, yield" (cf. L. lassus "faint, weary," Lith. leisti "to let, to let loose"). The primary sense appears to be "to let go through weariness, to neglect." Obsolete let (n.) "hindrance" is from O.E. lettan "hinder, delay," from P.Gmc. *latjanan, related to Mod.Eng. late. Slang letdown "disappointment" first recorded 1768. Let on "reveal, divulge" is from 1637; let up "cease, stop" is from 1787.

let (n.)

"hindrance," 1175, from O.E. lettan "hinder, delay," from P.Gmc. *latjanan (cf. O.S. lettian "to hinder," O.N. letja "to hold back," O.H.G. lezzen "to stop, check," Goth. latjan "to hinder, make late," O.E. læt "sluggish, slow, late"); see late.

Main Entry: let
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: let; let·ting
transitive verb 1 : to offer or grant for rent, lease, or hire : LEASE let, or encumbered> let out>
2 : to assign esp. after bids let a contract without going through the bidding process —Union Springs Tel. Company v. Rowell, 623 So. Second 732 (1993)> intransitive verb 1 : to become rented, leased, or hired
2 : to become awarded to a contractor

let

In addition to the idioms beginning with let, also see blow (let) off steam; give (let) someone have his or her head; (let someone) have it; live and let live. Also see under leave.

LET
linear energy transfer

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