leave 1 (l v)v. left (l ft), leav·ing, leaves v.tr.1. To go out of or away from: not allowed to leave the room. 2. a. To go without taking or removing: left my book on the bus. b. To omit or exclude: left out the funniest part of the story. 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. 5. a. To have remaining after death: left a young son. b. To bequeath: left her money to charity. 6. To give over to another to control or act on: Leave all the details to us. 7. a. To abandon or forsake: leave home; left her husband. b. To remove oneself from association with or participation in: left the navy for civilian life. 8. a. 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. b. 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 off1. To stop; cease. 2. To stop doing or using. Idiom: leave no stone unturned To make every possible effort.
[Middle English leaven, from Old English l fan; 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. |
leave 2 (lv)n.1. Permission to do something. See Synonyms at permission. 2. a. Abbr. lv. Official permission to be absent from work or duty, as that granted to military or corporate personnel. b. The period of time granted by such permission. Also called leave of absence. 3. An act of departing; a farewell: took leave of her with a heavy heart.
[Middle English leve, from Old English lafe, dative and accusative of laf; see leubh- in Indo-European roots.] |
leave off Verb 1. to stop; cease 2. to stop wearing or using
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Verb | 1. | leave off - come to an end, stop or cease; "the road leaves off at the edge of the forest"; "leave off where you started"discontinue - come to or be at an end; "the support from our sponsoring agency will discontinue after March 31" | | 2. | leave off - prevent from being included or considered or accepted; "The bad results were excluded from the report"; "Leave off the top piece"elide - leave or strike out; "This vowel is usually elided before a single consonant" | | 3. | leave off - stop using; "leave off your jacket--no need to wear it here" |
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