English Dictionary

Definition of “leave”

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1leave1 (liːvPronunciation for leave1) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: leaves, leaving, left
(mainly tr)
  1. (also intr) to go or depart (from a person or place)
  2. to cause to remain behind, often by mistake, in a place  ⇒ he often leaves his keys in his coat 
  3. to cause to be or remain in a specified state  ⇒ paying the bill left him penniless 
  4. to renounce or abandon  ⇒ to leave a political movement 
  5. to refrain from consuming or doing something  ⇒ the things we have left undone 
  6. to result in; cause  ⇒ childhood problems often leave emotional scars 
  7. to allow to be or remain subject to another person or thing  ⇒ leave the past to look after itself 
  8. to entrust or commit  ⇒ leave the shopping to her 
  9. to submit in place of one's personal appearance  ⇒ will you leave your name and address? 
  10. to pass in a specified direction  ⇒ flying out of the country, we left the cliffs on our left 
  11. to be survived by (members of one's family)  ⇒ he leaves a wife and two children 
  12. to bequeath or devise  ⇒ he left his investments to his children 
  13. (tr) to have as a remainder  ⇒ 37 – 14 leaves 23 
  14. not standard to permit; let
  15. See leave be
  16. See leave go
  17. See leave it at that
  18. See leave much to be desired
  19. See leave someone alone
  20. See leave someone to himself

See also

leave behind , leave off , leave out

Alternative Forms

ˈleaver noun

Word Origin

Old English lǣfan;  related to belīfan to be left as a remainder

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= depart from withdraw from go from escape from desert, quit, flee, exit, pull out of retire from move out of disappear from run away from forsake, flit, set out from go away from hook it, pack your bags make tracks, abscond from bog off, decamp from sling your hook slope off from take your leave of do a bunk from take yourself off from
= quit, give up, get out of, resign from drop out of
= give up, abandon, desert, dump, drop, surrender, ditch, chuck, discard, relinquish, renounce, jilt, cast aside, forbear, leave in the lurch
= entrust, commit, delegate, refer, hand over, assign, consign, allot, cede, give over,
= bequeath, will, transfer, endow, transmit, confer, hand down, devise, demise,
= forget, lay down, leave behind, mislay,
= cause, produce, result in, generate, deposit,

2leave2 (liːvPronunciation for leave2) 

Definitions

noun

  1. permission to do something  ⇒ he was granted leave to speak 
  2. See by your leave
  3. permission to be absent, as from a place of work or duty  ⇒ leave of absence 
  4. the duration of such absence  ⇒ ten days' leave 
  5. a farewell or departure (esp in the phrase take (one's) leave)
  6. See on leave
  7. See take leave
  8. See take leave of one's senses

Word Origin

Old English lēaf;  related to alӯfan  to permit, Middle High German loube permission

3leave3 (liːvPronunciation for leave3) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: leaves, leaving, leaved
  1. (intr) to produce or grow leaves

Translations

  • British English: leave Pronunciation for leave Leave is a period of time when you are not working at your job, because you are on holiday or vacation.Why don't you take a few days' leave?liːv NOUN Why don't you take a few days' leave?
  • Spanish: permiso Pronunciation for permiso nm
  • French: congés Pronunciation for congés nm_pl
  • German: Beurlaubung Pronunciation for Beurlaubung nf
  • Chinese: 请假Pronunciation for 请假 n
  • Arabic: إجَازَةٌPronunciation for إجَازَةٌ n
  • Portuguese: licençaPronunciation for licença nf
  • Russian: позволениеPronunciation for позволение nnt
  • Croatian: dopustPronunciation for dopust nm
  • Czech: dovolenáPronunciation for dovolená nf
  • Danish: orlovPronunciation for orlov nutr
  • Dutch: verlofPronunciation for verlof nnt
  • Finnish: lomaPronunciation for loma n
  • Greek: άδειαPronunciation for άδεια nf
  • Italian: partenzaPronunciation for partenza nf
  • Japanese: 許可Pronunciation for 許可 n
  • Korean: 허락Pronunciation for 허락 n
  • Norwegian: permisjonPronunciation for permisjon nm
  • Polish: pozwoleniePronunciation for pozwolenie nnt
  • Brazilian Portuguese: permissãoPronunciation for permissão nf
  • European Spanish: permiso Pronunciation for permiso nm
  • Swedish: ledighetPronunciation for ledighet nutr
  • Thai: การลาหยุดPronunciation for การลาหยุด n
  • Turkish: izinPronunciation for izin n
  • Vietnamese: sự cho phépPronunciation for sự cho phép n
  • British English: leave Pronunciation for leave When you leave a place, you go away from it.Our bus leaves in an hour. I simply couldn't leave my little girl.liːv VERB Our bus leaves in an hour. I simply couldn't leave my little girl.
  • Spanish: dejar Pronunciation for dejar v
  • French: partir Pronunciation for partir vi
  • German: weggehen Pronunciation for weggehen v
  • Chinese: 离开Pronunciation for 离开 v
  • Arabic: يَتْرُكُPronunciation for يَتْرُكُ v
  • Portuguese: deixarPronunciation for deixar v
  • Russian: покидатьPronunciation for покидать v
  • Croatian: napustitiPronunciation for napustiti v
  • Czech: odejítPronunciation for odejít v odcházet
  • Danish: forladePronunciation for forlade v
  • Dutch: weggaanPronunciation for weggaan v
  • Finnish: lähteäPronunciation for lähteä v
  • Greek: φεύγωPronunciation for φεύγω v
  • Italian: partirePronunciation for partire v
  • Japanese: 出発するPronunciation for 出発する v
  • Korean: 떠나다Pronunciation for 떠나다 v
  • Norwegian: draPronunciation for dra v
  • Polish: odejśćPronunciation for odejść v odchodzić
  • Brazilian Portuguese: deixarPronunciation for deixar v
  • European Spanish: dejar Pronunciation for dejar v
  • Swedish: lämnaPronunciation for lämna v
  • Thai: ทอดทิ้งPronunciation for ทอดทิ้ง v
  • Turkish: ayrılmakPronunciation for ayrılmak v
  • Vietnamese: dời điPronunciation for dời đi v
  • British English: leave If you leave something somewhere, you do not bring it with you.I left my bags in the car.liːv VERB I left my bags in the car.
  • French: laisser vt
  • Arabic: يَتْرُكُ v
  • Brazilian Portuguese: deixar vt

Usage examples

  • I squeezed her hand harder: `Don't leave me now Jessica,' I whispered to her, `don't leave me now.
    Hugo Wilcken, THE EXECUTION (2002)
  • Many come seeking the perfect waterfront cottage and leave disappointed.
    Country Life (2004)
  • His omission was, however, offset by the Roma manager Fabio Capello's decision to leave his prolific striker Vincenzo Montella on the bench.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • Basically, the company was content to hang on to its seaboard trading posts and leave exploration to others.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • The enclosure of the shared public lands by the powerful landowners forced many people to leave their villages.
    Dorothy Rowe, BEYOND FEAR (2002)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'L'

Related Terms

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