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leave off

   Also found in: Idioms, Wikipedia 0.04 sec.
leave 1  (lv)
v. left (lft), 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 off
1. 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 lfan; see leip- in Indo-European roots.]

leaver 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
Verb1.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"
do away with, eliminate, get rid of, extinguish - terminate, end, or take out; "Let's eliminate the course on Akkadian hieroglyphics"; "Socialism extinguished these archaic customs"; "eliminate my debts"
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"
cease, discontinue, lay off, quit, stop, give up - put an end to a state or an activity; "Quit teasing your little brother"

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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
So when the Old Man was dead each of the youths put a weed upon his hat and wore it until he was himself old, when, seeing that neither would give in, they agreed that the younger should leave off his weeds and the elder give him half of the estate.
At times I cry aloud for sorrow, but presently I leave off again, for crying is cold comfort and one soon tires of it.
It is time, too, for me to leave off resting my arms on the cold stone of this bridge.
 
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