let down

let ¹  (lt)

v. let, let·ting, lets

v.tr.

1. 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.

2. To cause to; make: Let the news be known.

3.

a. Used as an auxiliary in the imperative to express a command, request, or proposal: Let's finish the job! Let x equal y.

b. Used as an auxiliary in the imperative to express a warning or threat: Just let her try!

4. To permit to enter, proceed, or depart: let the dog in.

5. To release from or as if from confinement: let the air out of the balloon; let out a yelp.

6. To rent or lease: let rooms.

7. To award, especially after bids have been submitted: let the construction job to a new firm.

v.intr.

1. To become rented or leased.

2. To be or become assigned, as to a contractor.

Phrasal Verbs:

let down

1. To cause to come down gradually; lower: let down the sails.

2.

a. To withdraw support from; forsake.

b. To fail to meet the expectations of; disappoint.

let on

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

2. To pretend.

let out

1. To come to a close; end: School let out early. The play let out at 11 p.m.

2. To make known; reveal: Who let that story out?

3. To increase the size of (a garment, for example): let out a coat.

let up

1. To slow down; diminish: didn't let up in their efforts.

2. To come to a stop; cease: The rain let up.

Idioms:

let alone

Not to mention; much less: "Their ancestors had been dirt poor and never saw royalty, let alone hung around with them" (Garrison Keillor).

let go

To cease to employ; dismiss: had to let 20 workers go.

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.

let (one's) hair down

To drop one's reserve or inhibitions.

let (someone) have it Informal

1. To beat, strike, or shoot at someone.

2. To scold or punish.

let (someone) in on

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

2. To allow someone to participate in (something).

let up on

To be or become more lenient with: Why don't you let up on the poor child?

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

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let ²  (lt)

n.

1. Something that hinders; an obstacle: free to investigate without let or hindrance.

2. 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.

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

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let down

vb (tr, mainly adverb)

1. (also preposition) to lower

2. to fail to fulfil the expectations of (a person); disappoint

3. (Clothing, Personal Arts & Crafts / Knitting & Sewing) to undo, shorten, and resew (the hem) so as to lengthen (a dress, skirt, etc.)

4. to untie (long hair that is bound up) and allow to fall loose

5. to deflate to let down a tyre

n letdown

1. a disappointment

2. (Engineering / Aeronautics) the gliding descent of an aircraft in preparation for landing

3. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Veterinary Science) the release of milk from the mammary glands following stimulation by the hormone oxytocin

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	let down - move something or somebody to a lower position; "take down the vase from the shelf" bring down, lower, take down, get down move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant" reef - lower and bring partially inboard; "reef the sailboat's mast" depress - lower (prices or markets); "The glut of oil depressed gas prices" dip - lower briefly; "She dipped her knee" incline - lower or bend (the head or upper body), as in a nod or bow; "She inclined her head to the student"
	2.	let down - fail to meet the hopes or expectations of; "Her boyfriend let her down when he did not propose marriage" disappoint betray, fail - disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake; "His sense of smell failed him this time"; "His strength finally failed him"; "His children failed him in the crisis" come short, fall short - fail to meet (expectations or standards) disenchant, disillusion - free from enchantment frustrate, queer, scotch, thwart, foil, baffle, bilk, cross, spoil - hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent"

Translations

? let down

vt sep

(= lower) rope, person → herunterlassen; seat → herunterklappen; hair, window → herunterlassen; I tried to let him down gently (fig) → ich versuchte, ihm das schonend beizubringen; to let one’s guard down (lit) → seine Deckung vernachlässigen; (fig) → sich aus der Reserve locken lassen

(= lengthen) dress → länger machen; hem → auslassen

(= deflate) to let a tyre (Brit) or tire (US) down → die Luft aus einem Reifen lassen

(= fail to help) to let somebody down → jdn im Stich lassen (over mit); the weather let us down → das Wetter machte uns einen Strich durch die Rechnung; to let the side down → die anderen im Stich lassen

(= disappoint) → enttäuschen; to feel let down → enttäuscht sein

to let the school/oneself down → die Schule/sich blamieren or in Verruf bringen; you’d be letting yourself down if you only got 5 out of 10 → es wäre unter deinem Niveau, nur 5 von 10 Punkten zu bekommen

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let down → يَتخلى عن zklamat svigte enttäuschen απογοητεύω defraudar tuottaa pettymys laisser tomber iznevjeriti deludere がっかりさせる 실망시키다 dalen svikte spuścić decepcionar подвести göra besviken ทำให้ผิดหวัง hayal kırıklığına uğratmak làm thất vọng 辜负