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English dictionary

leave Meaning & Definition

/ˈliːv/

What Does Leave Mean?

As a verb, leave means To have a consequence or remnant. To cause or allow (something) to remain as available; to refrain from taking (something) away; to stop short of consuming or otherwise depleting (something) entirely. It can also mean To cause or allow (something) to remain as available; to refrain from taking (something) away; to stop short of consuming or otherwise depleting (something) entirely. As a noun, it means The action of the batsman not attempting to play at the ball. As a noun, it means Permission to be absent; time away from one's work.

Leave at a Glance

Part of speechverb, noun
Pronunciation/ˈliːv/
Synonymsimpart, lead and give
Antonymsalter, change and get
Pluralleaves
Verb formsleaves, leaving, left

Leave Definition (Verb)

  1. To have a consequence or remnant. To cause or allow (something) to remain as available; to refrain from taking (something) away; to stop short of consuming or otherwise depleting (something) entirely.

    I left my car at home and took a bus to work.

  2. To cause or allow (something) to remain as available; to refrain from taking (something) away; to stop short of consuming or otherwise depleting (something) entirely.

    I left my car at home and took a bus to work.

  3. To cause, to result in.

    The lightning left her dazzled for several minutes.

  4. To put; to place; to deposit; to deliver, with a sense of withdrawing oneself.

    Leave your hat in the hall.

  5. To depart; to separate from. To let be or do without interference.

    I left him to his reflections.

  6. To let be or do without interference.

    I left him to his reflections.

  7. To depart from; to end one's connection or affiliation with.

    His bow and arrow never leaves him.

  8. To end one's membership in (a group); to terminate one's affiliation with (an organization); to stop participating in (a project).

    I left the band.

  9. To die (the object denotes those affected by the death).
  10. To depart; to go away from a certain place or state.

    I think you'd better leave.

  11. To transfer something. To transfer possession of after death.

    When my father died, he left me the house.

  12. To transfer possession of after death.

    When my father died, he left me the house.

  13. To intentionally place (something) to be received by another; to deliver (something) to a repository; to deposit.

    I'll leave the car in the station so you can pick it up there.

  14. To transfer responsibility or attention of (something) (to someone); to stop being concerned with.

    Can't we just leave this to the experts?

  15. To remain (behind); to stay.
  16. To stop, desist from; to "leave off" (+ noun / gerund).

Leave as a Noun

  1. The action of the batsman not attempting to play at the ball.

    He made 45 leaves in his innings of 64.

  2. The arrangement of balls in play that remains after a shot is made (which determines whether the next shooter — who may be either the same player, or an opponent — has good options, or only poor ones).
  3. The tiles remaining on a player's rack after his or her turn.

    I didn't score much, but LING was a good leave.

Noun

  1. Permission to be absent; time away from one's work.

    I've just been given three weeks' leave by my boss — I don't think I still have some leave owing to me.

  2. Permission.

    Might I beg leave to accompany you?

  3. Farewell, departure.

    I took my leave of the gentleman without a backward glance.

Verb

  1. To give leave to; allow; permit; let; grant.

Verb

  1. To produce leaves or foliage.

Verb

  1. To raise; to levy.

Verb

  1. To have a consequence or remnant.
  2. To depart; to separate from.
  3. To transfer something.

Synonyms of Leave

Leave synonyms and antonyms →

Antonyms of Leave

Leave in a Sentence

I left my car at home and took a bus to work.

The ants did not leave so much as a crumb of bread.

There's not much food left. We'd better go to the shops.

The lightning left her dazzled for several minutes.

Infantile paralysis left him lame for the rest of his life.

She left disappointed.

The accident left the car a heap of twisted metal.

Leave your hat in the hall.

We should leave the legal matters to lawyers.

I left my sewing and went to the window to watch the falling snow.

I left him to his reflections.

I leave my hearers to judge.

I'll leave it to you to decide.

His bow and arrow never leaves him.

I left the country and I left my wife.

I left the band.

I think you'd better leave.

When my father died, he left me the house.

I'll leave the car in the station so you can pick it up there.

Can't we just leave this to the experts?

He made 45 leaves in his innings of 64.

I didn't score much, but LING was a good leave.

I've just been given three weeks' leave by my boss — I don't think I still have some leave owing to me.

Might I beg leave to accompany you?

The applicant now seeks leave to appeal and, if leave be granted, to appeal against these sentences.

I took my leave of the gentleman without a backward glance.

I've been given three weeks' leave by my boss.

We were not left go to the beach after school except on a weekend.

Word Forms & Grammar

leave (third-person singular simple present leaves, present participle leaving, simple past and past participle left)

leave (plural leaves)

leave (countable and uncountable, plural leaves)

leave (third-person singular simple present leaves, present participle leaving, simple past and past participle leaved or left)

leave (third-person singular simple present leaves, present participle leaving, simple past and past participle leaved)

Words That Rhyme With Leave

Origin of Leave

Origin 1: From Middle English leven, from Old English lǣfan (“to leave”), from Proto-West Germanic *laibijan, from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to let stay, leave”), causative of *lībaną (“to stay, remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick; fat”).

Origin 2: Cognate with Old Frisian lēva (“to leave”), dialectal Dutch loven (“to have left over, save, keep”), Old Saxon lēvian, Old High German leiban (“to leave”), Old Norse leifa (“to leave over”) (whence Icelandic leifa (“to leave food uneaten”), Swedish leva (“to leave”)), lifna (“to be left”) (whence Danish levne). More at lave, belive.

Origin 3: The noun is attested since the 19th century, with earliest references to billiards.

Origin 4: From Middle English leve, from Old English lēaf (“permission, privilege”), from Proto-Germanic *laubō, *laubą (“permission, privilege, favour, worth”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to love, hold dear”). Cognate with obsolete German Laube (“permission”), Swedish lov (“permission”), Icelandic leyfi (“permission”). Related to Dutch verlof, German Urlaub, Erlaubnis, Verlaub. See also love.

Leave: Your Questions Answered

Is leave a verb or a noun?

Leave is mainly used as a verb, but it can also be used as a noun.

What is another word for leave?

You can replace leave with words such as impart, lead and give. See the full list of leave synonyms and antonyms.

What is the opposite of leave?

Words opposite in meaning to leave are alter, change, get and come.

What is the plural of leave?

The plural of leave is leaves.

What is the past tense of leave?

The past tense of leave is left. The present participle is leaving.

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